The Aquarian Star: Toni Stark, Woman of Letters
by justanotherpipedream
Summary: A Marvel/Supernatural crossover - Instead of following in the footsteps of her father, Natasha 'Toni' Stark picks up her mother's legacy as a Woman of Letters. Stark men might be made of iron, but Carbonell women are made of stars.
1. Woman of Letters (Chapter 1)

**The Aquarian Star: Toni Stark, Woman of Letters**

 **Chapter 1**

* * *

Natasha 'Toni' Stark is not a fool.

The world, especially the media, would always, see her as Howard Stark's daughter.

Inventor. Genius. Youngest MIT student. Wild Party Girl. Irresponsible. Scandalous.

No matter what everyone else has always thought of her, Toni had always considered herself her mother`s daughter. It was her mother after all, who hugged her close after Howard tossed aside her sketches into an overflowing pile on the corner of the desk before leaving for work.

It was her mother who kissed her goodnight, with stories of angels and demons who fought to take over the world. Her mother whispered stories of hunters who saved the world from werewolves, of friendly ghosts, of witches who`ve saved men from falling into thralls of sirens.

Toni remembers gentle fingers carding through her hair. ``Remember Toni, not all angels are good and not all witches are evil. The world will not always be black and white, or good and evil. Question what you know to be true, and accept that the truth is usually somewhere in between."

"But, how will I know Mama? How will I know what the truth is?"

"You won't always know _mia stella_. Trust your instincts my darling, and the truth will reveal itself in time."

* * *

Toni could easily follow in her father's footsteps, and would likely surpass him if she tried. She built her first circuit board at the age of five, easily drawing whispers from the engineers at Stark Industries. While other children drew pictures of dogs and flowers, Toni dreamed of robots and planes. Science came easily to her, and Toni loved taking apart anything she could grab in order to put them back together again, better than they were before.

When Toni wandered into Howard's office, she felt a jolt of pride as she saw Howard reach for one of her drawings for the first time. It was one of her most recent sketches from untouched pile on the side of his desk. She felt her stomach drop a moment later, when he scribbled over the piece of paper with the phone pressed to his ear.

Toni stormed out of the room, tears blurring her vision as she ripped up the pieces of her newest design. It was later when she burned the pieces in the fireplace of the living room that Toni realized for the first time, that no matter how good her designs were, Howard was never going to look at them.

It was not until hours later, when she found her ripped up design taped together and restored as much as possible alongside a tray of Jarvis' hot chocolate and a plate of Ana's famous cookies, that Toni decided that she didn't need Howard anyways.

 _She didn't_.

* * *

While Howard spent all of his time looking for Steve Rogers, Toni could never understand his obsession and determination to find Captain America. Every once in a while, when her father was off heading expeditions on the ocean, Toni would sneak into Howard`s showcase and stare at the photographs on the wall.

No matter how much Howard raved on about how wonderful Captain America was, Toni could never really get herself to idolize him in the way Howard wanted her to. Why would she do that, when Aunt Peggy, was there in the flesh, every week?

When boys from school gave her cuts and bruises, Aunt Peggy showed her how to properly curl her fingers and ensure that they would never bruise her again. Jarvis and Ana were the ones to kiss her bandages and sneak her freshly baked cookies. Contrary to popular belief, it was not Stark Industries where Toni learned most about firearms. It was under the patient guidance of Agent Peggy Carter where Toni learned to load and unload a pistol with her eyes closed.

Even when Howard told her over and over again that the workshop wasn't a place for little girls, Jarvis would always lead her into playroom turned makeshift workshop, and gently sit her down. Her schematics and tools were always carefully arranged and ready for her.

"He hasn't seen what you can do yet, Miss Toni. Prove him wrong."

When she made her first robot, Toni proudly presented it to Jarvis. It was a little thing, with glowing blue eyes that sang Jarvis' favourite song on command. It was the first time that she saw Jarvis cry as he hugged her tight, thanking her for the gift and how honoured he was to receive it.

The first time Toni saw Ana cry, was after Ana got sick and had to stay in bed all week. Toni had worked all afternoon (with Jarvis' supervision) to make Ana her favourite borscht and carried it up to her on a silver tray. It had to be perfect, Toni told Jarvis, because how else would Ana get better faster? Ana pulled Toni into her side and cried into her hair. "Thank you sweetie, this is so wonderful of you."

The first time that Toni saw her mother cry, was after she stabbed a man with glowing red eyes who attacked them in the garden.

* * *

Toni was eight years old the first time that a demon tried to attack her. At the time though, she didn't realize what was happening until it was over.

A man dressed in a deliveryman uniform made his way around the back of the mansion, a large cardboard box in hand. Toni was sitting outside by the pond, throwing pieces of leftover bread for the ducks swimming past.

"I can make it happen you know."

Toni squinted up at the stranger. She couldn't quite make out his face as he blocked the sun. She must have been sitting in the sun for too long though, because for a split second she swore that his eyes glinted red as he studied her.

Toni narrowed her eyes, "What are you talking about?"

The man in front of her smirked as images flashed across her vision. _Howard pouring over Toni's drawings on his desk. Howard and Toni bent over a workbench side by side. Howard brushing some grease out of Toni's hair, laughing as it only made it worse. A checkered picnic blanket spread out on the lawn as Maria, Jarvis and Ana looked on as Peggy and Howard chased Toni squealing gleefully around the duck pond. Howard beaming proudly as Toni stood in the labs of Stark Industries, showing off her newest design. "I am so proud of you Toni."_

Toni jumped as she felt a warm breath in her ear, "Don't you want to work on projects with your father? Always so busy that man, never having enough time for you. He never wanted a girl you know, he was so disappointed when you turned out to be Natasha instead of Anthony. But…I can make him truly _see_ and appreciate you _…_ All you have to do is say yes."

Toni shook her head and scrambled backwards, heart pounding. How did he know all those things about her…how did he even know her name?

"Come now Toni, all I'm asking you to do is to say yes. That's all you need to do in order for you to get the happy little family you've always wanted. Just think, you, your parents, Jarvis, Peggy, Ana… all of you can be one big happy family. _Just say yes_."

Toni looked up at the man, eyes glazing over. Would it really be so bad if she said yes? Toni felt her eyes drooping closed as she stared back at the man, now kneeling in front of her. As the man slowly smiled, she looked once again into his red glowing eyes. At once she felt a cold chill slam into her body, as she started scrambling backwards. Stories of demons with pitch black eyes whispering into the ears of men, women and children quickly came to mind as she felt her stomach drop.

 _Remember mia stella, nothing good can come from making a deal._

 _Nothing is worth giving away your soul._

A shadow appeared over the pond, and as Toni looked up she felt a large hand cover her mouth as an arm moved to pick her up from behind. Remembering the drills that her Aunt Peggy taught her, Toni kicked at her captor's knees as she bit into his hand. As he cursed and dropped her, Toni ran for the mansion screaming for help.

As Toni ran as fast as she could towards the back of the house, she saw a blur in front of her before the man appeared with eyes flashing red as he grabbed her again.

"A pity, I guess we will have to do this the hard way. If you come quietly, I won't have to kill your moth-"

Toni gasped as her mother appeared behind the man and stabbed him with a long silver blade. The man staggered for a moment as his red eyes locked onto Toni.

"Even if I am dead, they will still come. For both of you. And by then, you will beg for death to come and take you away."

Toni's eyes widened as she saw the knife being pushed through the man from behind, blood dripping from the blade. Jarvis was suddenly in front of her, shielding her view as much as possible as he held her close.

Toni clutched at Jarvis as she clenched her eyes shut. She could hear the man, _thing_ , shriek and swear even with Jarvis' hands covering her ears. When she finally built up the courage to take a peek, Toni could only gasp as what looked like black smoke, poured from the man's mouth as he collapsed to the ground.

Maria quickly ran to Toni, hands grasping everywhere. "Are you hurt baby? Did he hurt you at all?" Toni was pulled tightly into her mother's arms, hands pressed tightly against the back of her head as she felt hot tears on the side of her cheek.

Toni clung to Maria and didn't let go, even as Peggy and Ana ran outside into the backyard. Ana gasped at the sight while Peggy and Jarvis checked on the body. Toni tugged insistently on Maria's sleeve.

"He had _red eyes_. _Red eyes_ …"

Maria tucked a stray hair behind Toni's ear as she stared at her daughter before carefully answering,

"Yes Toni, he was no longer a man but a demon."

Toni shuddered, "But why was he trying to kill us?"

Maria glanced quickly at Peggy and Jarvis, nodding as they silently agreed to discuss this later on. Maria turned back to Toni, with steel in her eyes,

"I'm not sure _mia stella_ , but I am going to find out."

* * *

It was the first time that Toni had seen such a dark look in her mother's eyes. Whether at home with Toni, or at a party with Howard, Maria Stark always carried herself with poise and grace. No matter how heated the other women gossiped or the men stared, Maria Stark was pleasant and polite to everyone.

Toni didn't know it at the time, but she realized much later that the woman standing in front of her at that moment was not Maria Stark, but Maria Carbonell - member of the Men of Letters. A woman in a secret society of men who worked to gain knowledge of the mysteries of the supernatural. A woman who fought demons, ghosts, werewolves and protected the world every day with no one else the wiser. Or, at least that's what Toni understood at the time. It was rather hard to hear through the parlour door, even if she pressed her ear up against it.

Toni steeled herself as she opened the door a crack to peek inside the room. Mama was sitting across from Peggy and Ana as Jarvis brought out a tray of tea.

"Thank you Edwin. Where was I? Ah yes, before I decided to marry Howard, I was sent on a mission to investigate Obadiah Stane."

Toni could only see the back of her head, but even from far away she could see Aunt Peggy's sharp intake of breath.

"He's involved in this?"

Maria exhaled sharply, smoothing out her skirt. "Unfortunately. It was rumoured that he's been getting some _supernatural_ help with business, but I still wasn't exactly able to _prove_ how. I've been watching him for years, trying to figure out who exactly he's been working with, but whoever that's been has been very good at concealing themselves. No matter how much I've dug, I still haven't found anything conclusive."

Maria sighed as she stared into the fireplace.

"After Howard and I had started dating, someone had starting to kill off members of the Men of Letters one by one. I was forced to slow my investigation, and keep a low profile as best as I could…"

Peggy raised an eyebrow.

"By marrying Howard Stark?"

Maria laughed, "What better place to hide than in the spotlight? Who would suspect the wife of Howard Stark as a member of the Men of Letters?

Peggy snorted approvingly, "Fair enough, but that would also mean that you were also much more watched."

"Yes, unfortunately that also meant that I had to be much more discreet and careful with my investigations."

Maria glanced at the photograph over the mantle. It was taken right after twelve hours of labour when Toni came screaming into the world. Howard was away on a business trip, and wouldn't see his daughter until the next day. Jarvis had managed to snap it at the perfect moment. Maria looked exhausted, but she didn't care as she smiled down at her little girl.

"After I learned that I was pregnant, I stopped. The Men of Letters were slowly dying off, and I wasn't sure if I could do it on my own. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving Toni without a mother. And Howard…."

Peggy grasped Maria's hand and squeezed, nodding sadly, "Howard…"

They sat there in silence for a bit, sipping their tea. _I better get back to my room before they notice_ , Toni thought as she slowly stood to go back to her room, leaving the door to the sitting room cracked open. It was surprising that Jarvis or Aunt Peggy haven't caught her yet, but they seemed distracted. Toni made her way back to her bedroom and crawled underneath her covers.

She could no longer hear the adults clearly, just the soothing tones of Jarvis and Peggy murmuring as her eyes drifted closed. The last thing she remembered before drifting off was her mother's worried voice…

"…I stopped looking, but I think I have to start again. Even after I stopped, we were still attacked. _Toni was still attacked._ If you all weren't there…I don't know what would have happened… I need to stop this…for good…."

Toni's eyes drifted shut, exhausted as she dreamt of red eyes, watching her in the darkness.

That night was the first of many that she dreamt of the red eyed man.

Shadows followed her as Toni ran through the mansion. A deep and chilling laugh would echo down the hallways as Toni darted through the hallways. _There's no escape Toni, you will never be able to run from me._ Toni ran and ran as her heart pounded in her chest. No matter what hallway or room she ran into, the shadows always morphed into the man with the red eyes. Suddenly he was there, and Toni was backed into a corner as he loomed over her. His arms reached out to grab her-

Toni shrieked as she jolted awake sobbing, knees pulled to her chest. Her chest was so tight, and it _hurt so much_. _She couldn't breathe, she couldn't breathe, she couldn't breathe, she couldn't-_

"Take a deep breath Toni, that's it darling. I'm right here, Mama is right here."

Jarvis turned on the light as Maria opened her arms. Toni slipped off the bed and launched herself into waiting arms. Warm arms encircled her as soothing words were whispered into her ear. Toni shook, hot tears streaming down her face. Maria scooped Toni up as she moved them to the bed, as Jarvis left murmuring about hot chocolate.

As Toni's breathing evened out, Maria shifted her on her lap so that they were face to face.

"Did you want to talk about it?"

Toni shook her head, burying her face into mother's neck, exhaling slowly. _Lavender and vanilla._ Her mother had always loved the scents, and never failed to put some on before she went to bed.

Fingers rubbing her back slowly and the soothing scent surrounded Toni as her eyes slowly drifted shut. Maria tucked Toni beneath the blankets, pulling the quilt under her chin.

 _I'm sorry Toni. I'm so sorry you got dragged into this…please forgive me._

* * *

The next day, Toni's education as a Woman of Letters began.

In addition to learning all she could about supernatural lore, Maria brought out all of the books that she could to help Toni learn what she did when she became a Men of Letters initiate. It didn't take long for Toni to absorb all that she could, and Maria would have been astounded if she didn't already know her daughter was a prodigy.

Latin texts to quickly be translated into English. Protection sigils were memorized backwards and forwards, and soon enough Toni was helping to teach Jarvis, Ana and Peggy how to draw them all over the house. Devil's traps were crafted, and exorcism rituals learned by rote.

Aunt Peggy had gleefully taken over the weapons training. Toni had learned how to load, unload and re-load various types of guns and pistols with precision and control. Jarvis had also decided to help out where he could; Toni was surprised to learn that he was a competitive fencer and spent many afternoons teaching her various drills.

 _She would have put all the other initiates to shame_. Maria looked over at Toni fondly, as Peggy was teaching her how to shoot a pistol.

"Remember darling, anything can be a weapon. A pen, a bag, anything you can get a hold of will work."

Fighting seemed to be the only thing that Toni had to really work hard to learn. Her mind worked too fast for her body sometimes, and her body wasn't always moving fast enough to keep up. After watching a training session, Peggy had taken over Toni's training.

 _You don't go hard enough on her Maria, she won't be able to really defend herself if you keep going too soft on her._

As Peggy corrected Toni's stance and posture, Maria's eyes softened as Toni stumbled again.

"She has always been a fighter Ma'am, I think she will do fine in time."

Jarvis placed the tray down onto the table beside her. Hot tea with biscuits freshly baked from the oven set in front of her as Jarvis sat down beside her.

"I'm just worried that she's growing up too fast. Howard is already hard on her, and now _this_ … she shouldn't have to deal with this at 8 years old. She should be tinkering in her lab playing with her next toy robot, not dreaming about red eyed demons chasing after her..."

A warm hand clasped hers gently. "We can't always control what happens to us in life, but at least this way Toni will be able to protect herself and decide for herself the path she wants to take."

* * *

 _Blood red eyes laughed at her as Toni screamed. Toni bolted into her bedroom, locking the door behind her as she ran into the closet. Her heart was racing in her chest as she clamped a hand over her mouth, muffling her shortened breath._

 _The bedroom door burst open as footsteps slowly walked towards the bed. Toni clenched her eyes shut as the footsteps drew closer and closer to the closet door. She held her breath as the footsteps stopped right outside the door._

 _For a moment, Toni swore that it was the pounding in her chest that would give her away._

 _A dark laugh came from beside her ear._

 _"Found you."_

Toni screamed as she woke, drenched in sweat as her bedroom light was turned on.

"I've got you Miss Toni, I've got you."

Toni trembled as Jarvis took her into his arms, clutching as tightly as she could.

"I-I'm s-s-sorry Jarvis."

A hand patted her side softly. "It's quite alright Young Miss. There is nothing to be sorry about."

Jarvis said that there was nothing to worry about, but Toni still felt guilty. She could see how tired he, Ana and Mama were getting after taking turns in waking up and staying with her.

From that point on, Toni took short naps throughout the day. At night, she sat on her bed vigilante, keeping watch for red eyes in the darkness.

"I'll be back as soon as I can Toni, please be good for Jarvis and Ana. Your Aunt Peggy should be here in a couple days for your lesson."

Jarvis loaded her luggage in the car as Maria hugged Toni goodbye.

"Now don't be spending too much time in your workshop darling, I want you to be studying your lore as well."

"…yes Mama…"

Maria's eyes softened, "I promise I'll be back soon _mia stella_. I want you to take care of Jarvis and Ana for me while I'm gone, do you remember all of the protection sigils for the house?"

"Yes Mama! I'll do my best!"

Toni beamed as Maria placed a kiss on her forehead. "Of course you will darling, you've done such a good job already. I will see you soon Toni."

Toni waved as the driver pulled out of the driveway, even long after the car was out of sight.

* * *

"…and again Toni. That's it, don't forget to keep your guard up."

Toni huffed and moved her hands in front of her face, as Aunt Peggy circled her again.

"That's it! Remember, no matter how small you are, you can still use that to your advantage. Don't hold back, and always keep your guard up."

Alongside Jarvis and Ana's etiquette lessons, Aunt Peggy was continuing Toni's self-defence lessons. While still clumsy, Toni was getting better and better each lesson to Peggy's joy.

After a few more rounds, Toni finally collapsed onto the ground , breathing hard. She felt Aunt Peggy lying down beside her, and arms tucking her into her side.

Toni leaned in as she felt gentle fingers combing through her hair. Aunt Peggy brushed a hair away from her forehead and kissed it.

"You did well today Toni. We'll have to take a break from these lessons for a while darling. I've got some work I have to do and I'll be out of town for a while."

Peggy felt Toni's shoulders sag, as disappointed eyes shined back at her. Peggy felt awful leaving so soon, she had only been back a few days, and she was being called back to work already. Howard was, as per usual, away on SI business.

It has been months since Maria had left for her mission once again, spending only a day or two before heading out once again, but she was determined in tracking down the demon that had ordered the attack. Peggy tugged Toni close and hugged her.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, but I promise I'll be back soon. I'll take you out for ice cream when we get back. But for now, I have a present for you!"

Toni squealed as Aunt Peggy pulled out a small package leaning against her purse. Toni tore open the paper and gasped in surprise.

Two small teddy bears stared back at her. The first one was a light brown bear wearing the unmistakable red, white and blue uniform that she's seen so many times in her father's collection. He had a small cowl over his eyes and a round shield in his right paw. The other bear was a black bear with a dark brown Sergeant's uniform carrying a riffle on his back.

"I know how much you love the stories I've been telling you before bedtime, so I thought that while I'm gone, Steve and Bucky could keep you company."

Toni hugged both bears to her chest. Since Mama had left, Aunt Peggy would tell her bedtime stories all about the adventures she, Steve and Bucky would get up to during the war. Toni never cared too much about Captain America or Sergeant Barnes, no matter how many times Howard would tell her about them.

Toni loved how Steve was always brave and stood up to the bad guys, no matter how much smaller he was than everyone else.

Toni loved how Bucky told Peggy that he wasn't willing to follow Captain America into battle, but would always be right behind Steve Rogers.

Toni loved how Steve and Bucky would always look out for each other, how they always looked for each other no matter what happened.

It was the first time that Toni slept through the entire night without nightmares, as Steve and Bucky stood guard over her bed.

* * *

"…and that one?"

"That one there is Polaris, or the North Star _._ "

Toni lifted her head from the blanket spread on the grass to glance at her mother. It was a clear, warm summer night, perfect for stargazing her mother proclaimed, as she led Toni behind the gazebo into the garden. A thermos of hot chocolate and scones half-eaten on the blanket beside them. as they stared up at the sky.

"It isn't the brightest star in the sky, but it marks due north and hardly ever moves, so sailors and travellers used to look for it to help them guide their way home."

Toni felt a weight settle onto her throat. Toni gasped as Maria secured a silver chain around her neck. A six pointed star encompassed by a circle of small diamonds gleamed back at her in the moonlight. A feeling of warmth settled in her stomach as Toni played with the necklace.

"This is the Aquarian Star, the symbol of the Men of Letters and of the Carbonell family. My mother had passed this down to me, and now I am giving it to you sweetheart. It will protect you and lead you to those who can help you when you need it the most."

"…Are you leaving again?"

"Yes, there are some things I need to check out for a little while."

"Can't I go with you?"

"No _mia stella_ , you are starting school in just a few weeks and I want you to enjoy the rest of your summer before you leave."

"Do I _have_ to go to boarding school? I could stay here and go to school here, then I can help you look…"

"No Toni, this is something Mama has to do on her own. Besides, I will feel better that you are _safe_ at school."

"But-"

"This is not up for discussion Toni."

Toni scowled, crossing her arms as she turned away onto her other side. Maria's eyes softened.

"You have plenty of time to chase after demons once you are an adult Toni, if that is the path you decide to take. For now, just enjoy being a kid as long as you can alright? Study well, make some friends and enjoy school."

Maria turned Toni so that they were face to face and tilted her chin upwards.

"Even if you decide not to take the same path as me, I will always be proud of you Toni. You have a bright future ahead of you, no matter what you decide to do. No matter what you _want_ to do, I will be happy as long as you are happy and safe."

Toni curled into her mother's side as they stared back up into the night sky.

"Happy birthday sweetheart."

"Thank you Mama."

* * *

No.

Toni Stark is not Howard's daughter. Toni Stark is the Goddaughter of Peggy Carter. Toni Stark is the beloved charge of Ana and Edwin Jarvis. Toni Stark is the daughter of Maria Stark, a Woman of Letters and living legacy of the Carbonell family.

 _"Remember Toni, Stark men might be made of iron. But, Carbonell women are made of stars."_

* * *

A/N: I haven't written anything in a long while so please let me know what you think, and if you are enjoying this so far!


	2. Woman of Letters (Chapter 2)

A/N: From here on, there are potential spoilers for the current season of Supernatural in terms of the Men of Letters.

* * *

November 19, 1988

Mr. and Mrs. Stark,

I am writing to inform you that your daughter, Natasha Stark, has been given a formal warning for fighting. Two other students have received bruised ribs and black eyes during the incident. As Miss Stark has stated that her actions were in self-defence, Miss Stark has been given a formal warning. As per school policy, we do not condone violence and fighting in any instance. If this is to occur again, suspension will be the consequence for fighting.

Please sign and return the attached form as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Hanlin Charleston  
Headmaster

* * *

 _December 6, 1989_

 _Dear Toni,_

 _Thank you for your last letter! I am very glad that the other students seem to be leaving your locker alone now (I really enjoyed the attached picture of your locker 'security alarm'. It serves them right for trying to steal your clothes. Don't ever mention or show it to your mother or Edwin however, I don't think that they would carry that same appreciation.)_

 _I've attached some cookies and scones that Edwin and Ana have baked for you! They asked me to make sure to write to you to tell you to remember to eat properly. I know that you have been spending a lot more time in the science lab at school, but don't forget to sleep darling! Your mother hasn't been back in a while, but I know that she would tell you to keep up with studying your lore._

 _Remember darling, they might be a lot older than you, but that doesn't mean that they are more mature. Keep your chin up, I will see you for Christmas soon!_

 _Lots of love,_

Aunt Peggy

* * *

 _January 20, 1989_

 _Miss Toni,_

 _I am sorry, but I do not think that your mother would approve of a blowtorch as an appropriate gift for a care package. I have instead attached some biscuits and pre-mixed cocoa powder._

 _Unfortunately, your mother is not yet home. I believe that she was somewhere in Romania the last time she checked in, however I am not certain that she was to be there for very long. Your mother would not want you to worry about her, but would much rather you concentrate on your upcoming examinations._

 _I wish you the best of luck on your exams, I am sure that you will exceed all expectations._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Edwin Jarvis_

* * *

 _July 26, 1989_

 _Dear Toni,_

 _Are you keeping up with your training? Edwin is certain that any day now, you will be able to finally beat him in a fencing match. Are you enjoying your summer so far? I'm sorry that I haven't had the chance to visit you yet darling, but work should be less busy soon, and I will come and pay you a visit!_

 _Your mother should be home soon for at least a few days, I know the last time that I spoke with her, she was chasing a lead in Brazil. I'm sure that she will want to see for herself how much you've improved with your training._

 _Your father seems to be planning another expedition soon, and it looks like this one will last a few weeks so he will likely won't be home for a while._

 _Be good (but not too good!) for Edwin and Ana,_

 _Aunt Peggy_

* * *

 _October 5, 1989_

 _Miss Toni,_

 _I have managed to clean both bears as requested. As sticky a substance bubble-gum can be, Ana was able to dissolve and remove all traces. With the description of your newly designed lock, I am certain that no one will attempt to break into your room once more._

 _As a precaution, your Aunt Peggy has insisted in sending you pepper spray 'just-in-case'. However, as it is likely to be banned and considered a weapon at your school, I have instead attached some extra scraps and materials that will hopefully help you improve your security system._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Edwin Jarvis_

* * *

March 12, 1990

Mr. and Mrs. Stark,

I am writing to inform you that your daughter, Natasha Stark, is effectively suspended for two weeks. Causing a fire in the study hall 'in the name of science' is inexcusable and caused a disruption to other students for the rest of the afternoon.

As previously discussed on the phone, Miss Stark will be sent home for the duration of the suspension. Miss Stark is responsible for making up any missed work she will have missed during her absence.

Sincerely,

Hanlin Charleston  
Headmaster

* * *

 _March 15, 1990_

 _Mia Stella,_

 _I am sorry that we haven't been able to talk in a while. It is too dangerous to call you too often, but I will try to call you as soon as I can._

 _I am very proud of you darling - I heard from Edwin that you saved the lives of three other students by finding and burning some hex bags! However, please do try_ _ **not**_ _to burn down the entire study hall! Please promise me that you will be more careful in the future, and not to go hunting for the supernatural on your own, you are much too young to be doing so._

 _(And yes, robots do not count. As much as I love DUM-E, he does not count as a person who would be able to save you in case anything went wrong.)_

 _Please be careful darling, and enjoy the few weeks at home before you head back to school. Remember to finish your homework, and continue with your Latin lessons._

 _I love you and I'll see you soon,_

 _Mama_

* * *

To: Nick Fury

Subject: [REDACTED - CLEARANCE LEVEL 8 REQUIRED]

September 15, 1991

Nick,

I'm glad that you have accepted my offer in becoming the director of our new supernatural division, S.T.A.K.E. You will find your attached budget and paperwork in the attached folder.

As previously discussed, only those on a need to know basis with a level 8 clearance or higher is to know of this division. In the attached files, there are some suggestions for the training regime for the agents that will be recruited as advised by our Men of Letters consultant. Please take a look at them, and we will meet next week to discuss and finalize the plan.

While I'm aware that you have already recruited Agent Coulson, please go over the files of potential recruits as soon as you can. I know how much you hate paperwork, but I refuse to let you order Agent Coulson to do all the paperwork for the new recruits, so please go over the list and decide.

Sincerely,

Peggy Carter  
Director of SHIELD

* * *

To: Nick Fury

Subject: Paperwork

July 9, 1992

Director Fury,

While I am aware that you hate paperwork, please refrain from trying to pass off all of your paperwork onto the new recruits. While they do have level 8 clearance, there is still some things that need to be looked over by you before being signed off. It also gives me more work in correcting their mistakes before being passed onto Director Carter.

Also, please refrain from leaving pages from ancient exorcism rites in the common room. The images are quite graphic, and the recruits are not further along enough in their studies to realize that it is a joke.

I have booked the meeting you have requested, and have left the appropriate paperwork on your desk.

Sincerely,

Phil Coulson

* * *

 _Happy New Year Toni!_

 _I'm sorry that I had to leave right after Christmas darling, but work has been especially busy recently, and I've been called in early._

 _I am sorry that I won't be off to see you before you are back at school, but I'll write as much as I can. You are already halfway in finishing your third year at the school. You'll blink and it will be summer break already!_

 _Have some of Ana's cake for me (no matter what that woman says, I am certain that she is hiding a secret ingredient that we will one day find out!)_

 _Love,_

 _Aunt Peggy_

* * *

Men of Letters  
London, England

April 7, 1993

To [REDACTED],

I am writing to you in regards to our previous discussion, and urge you to consider sending more members overseas to investigate the disappearance of various members of the American Men of Letters branches. Contact has been lost from the Kansas branch, and I fear that the New York branch will also fall.

I have been looking into the disappearance of Henry Winchester and Josie Sands, I have found some clues that I think will give us more insight into what had happened that night.

I am aware of the chaos that is happening with the gang war going on, but I beg that you consider sending anyone you can spare to aid us.

Regards,

Maria Stark  
Men of Letters (New York)

* * *

April 7, 1993

Bobby,

I hope that you are doing well my friend. I'm sorry I had to leave this note on your porch and not wait for you, but I have to meet with a contact later. Thank you once again for passing on those gifts to Dean and Sam for me. No matter what has happened between my cousin and I, Dean and Sam should not be in the middle of that.

Next Christmas you and the boys should join me if you can. I think Toni would love to meet you, and I think she would love seeing her cousins again. We'll have to keep an eye on Dean and Toni though - last time they set a record by almost burning the kitchen down in the two minutes we left them alone.

I am afraid I am writing to ask you a favour. Have you heard of any rumours about a Knight of Hell? I've been doing some digging and I think I've finally found a lead, but there honestly isn't much lore surrounding it.

If you find anything out from the hunters, please let me know, but I beg you please be careful. There is something much larger going on, and I'm afraid if you are caught snooping around, you will put yourself in grave danger. I may have found something, but I'm going to confirm with my contact first.

I will try to call you on a secure line sometime next week.

Maria

* * *

A NATION MOURNS: MARIA STARK KILLED IN FATAL CAR CRASH  
 _New York Times_

NEW YORK CITY, Aug 31 - Maria Stark, wife of Howard Stark and the founder of the Maria Stark Foundation, was killed in a fatal car crash early this morning. The car reportedly was found crashed into a tree, the flames catching the attention of cars nearby.

"It was all up in flames" noted a passerby, "there was no way to get into the car. The flames were so high that by the time the police arrived, there was not much left."

After the firefighters had extinguished the flames, Stark was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities are waiting for an official coroner's report before releasing a public statement.

The nation mourned, as hundreds lay flowers and candles at the main building of the Maria Stark Foundation, a charity that raised money for homeless women and children. "She was such an amazing and caring woman," released the Maria Stark Foundation, "the loss is devastating to our foundation family, and we are heartbroken that the world has lost such an amazing woman."

Stark leaves behind her husband, Howard Stark of Stark Industries and their daughter, 14, Natasha Stark.

* * *

Men of Letters  
London, England  
 **Mission Report**

September 2, 1993

To: [REDACTED]

I arrived as requested to meet Maria Stark at our arranged meeting spot. However, as she did not arrive within the hour, I had left for the last known address that she had sent us. On my way, I spotted an abandoned car on the side of the road and I investigated. [REDACTED]

[REDACTED]

As a result, I arranged the bodies so authorities would close the case as a car accident and not [REDACTED]. I will continue the investigation as requested. However, with the current leads and resources, I am not certain that we will find what we are looking for.

Agent [REDACTED]

* * *

A/N: I wanted to try something different with the format of this chapter, let me know what you thought of it! Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter - I really appreciate all the feedback!


	3. Woman of Letters (Chapter 3)

**Chapter 3**

 **Toni Stark: Woman of Letters**

* * *

Toni sat at the vanity dresser, puffy red eyes staring back at her in the mirror. Hints of lavender filled the air as Toni eyed the half-empty perfume bottle. She grasped at her necklace, the aquarian star clutched in her hand.

Toni grabbed the red lipstick from the makeup box, hands shaking as she removed the lid.

"Here sweetheart, let me do that for you."

Peggy gently pried the lipstick from Toni's hands, tilting her face as she applied the rouge lipstick. "There, all done."

Picking up a brush, Peggy carefully brushed through the tangles in Toni's hair.

"It wasn't an accident."

Peggy paused and stared back at Toni in the mirror. Toni's hands were clenched, firmly tucked in her lap as she stared back.

"I talked to her on the phone that day, she wasn't planning on heading up that day at all. She was supposed to meet with one of her contacts that day." Toni's eyes narrowed as she focused on Peggy's unsurprised face. "You know that something is off."

Peggy sighed internally. _Of course Toni noticed._ The final police reports claimed that Maria swerved and crashed the car into a tree. However, while there were claims that the investigation was 'rushed due to the high profile nature of the case', Peggy was certain that the words 'cover up' were not too far off.

Peggy set down the brush, placing both of her hands on Toni's shoulders.

"Toni, I want you to listen to me very carefully alright?"

At Toni's nod, Peggy let out a breath. "I looked into the investigation, and something does seem off. The case was closed _too_ cleanly and too quickly, and I have a feeling it has to do with what your mother was investigating."

Toni opened her mouth as Peggy held up her hand. "Please, let me handle it. Let STAKE handle the case, and I promise we will do everything we can and find out what happened. I want you to promise me that you will _not_ go poking around."

"But-"

"Your mother was a full fledged member of the Men of Letters Toni. Even with her training and experience, something happened to her. Maria would not want you going off for revenge when we don't even know what is going on-"

"I can help-"

Peggy pulled Toni into a tight hug as she stroked the younger girl's hair, "I know you can darling, but please let me try for now. Let STAKE handle this - that's what they were made to do after all."

Toni slumped in her seat as Peggy continued.

"Your mother would not want you going after this darling. Not for revenge, no. She was so excited that you got accepted into MIT and that you are going there in the fall. You are still so young Toni, and you have the world of possibilities in front of you."

Peggy's eyes softened as she grasped Toni's face in her hands. "Continue to study and train. Once you're 18 and still interested, then we can have this conversation again. But in the meantime, go to school, make some new friends, try some new classes and have some fun. Live your life sweet girl, and don't stop living your life for vengeance. Okay? Promise me you'll try."

"I'll give it a shot."

"Good."

A knock on the door surprised them, as Jarvis entered handing Toni a glasses case.

"Apologies Miss Toni, Miss Peggy. The car is prepared for when you are both ready."

Toni slipped on the sunglasses straightening out her dress.

"Thanks J, let's go."

* * *

Cameras flashed as the procession pulled up in front of the large cathedral. Toni let out a shaky breath as Jarvis went around to open the door. Peggy squeezed her hand as she helped Toni out of the car, her steely stare silencing any questions that would have been yelled their way.

As the procession made their way into the cathedral, Toni held her head high as she made her way past the mob of reporters and security into the entrance of the church. Peggy squeezed Toni's hand as they made their way into the main hall, falling beside Howard. While he was perfectly coifed, Toni could tell that his eyes were red rimmed as he settled stiffly beside her.

The hall was packed with people, standing to face the procession as they made their way down the aisle. Toni vaguely recognised the faces as she walked by. She straightened her posture as she continued down the aisle, fingers tightening around the wax candle, avoiding all eye contact as she made her way to the front row.

Candles were placed around the casket and the music quietly faded away as the priest started the service.

Toni sat there, numb as the priest continued on,

"…for everything has a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…"

Toni stared at the flickering candles. There were only two times a year that Maria had insisted on attending mass, on Easter and Christmas Eve.

 _Hushed prayers echoed throughout the room as Maria ushered Toni inside. The hall was lit in a soft glow from the hundreds of candles lit for Christmas eve. The murmurs washed over Toni in a gentle comfort as Maria helped Toni light her candle._

"…a time for war, and a time for peace…"

Peggy gently nudged Toni as they stood alone in front of the gravestone. Everyone else had left for the reception, Jarvis stood in the distance waiting with the car.

"I'll give you a moment love. Take all the time you need."

Toni stood alone, eyes tracing the freshly engraved name. Snow gently filled the air as the sun filtered through the clouds. A large puff of air escaped as Toni exhaled slowly. A crunch in the snow behind startled her as Toni whirled around, eyes wild, arms raised. The man cleared his throat before a clear British voice echoed throughout the gravesite.

"My apologies, we're sorry to have startled you."

Toni slowly lowered her arms as her eyes focused on the man behind her. He held up his gloved hand in surrender, while the other held onto a bouquet of white and yellow chrysanthemums.

Toni could hear Ana's lessons whispering in the back of her mind.

 _Sorrow. Loyalty. Honour._

The man shifted from foot to foot before Toni nodded slightly, moving slightly to the side as he lay the bouquet down. A glint caught Toni's gaze as she looked to the woman standing further back. She wore a black coat stood a bit further back, black cloche hat covering her eyes as her hands were clasped in front of her. An Aquarian star necklace hung from her neck barely visible. Toni stiffened.

 _They're from the Men of Letters._

The woman approached as the man straightened up before extending a hand. He waited until Toni took his hand before speaking again. "I am Mick and this is Gwen. We both worked with your mother in the past. Your mother was a wonderful person and we've come to give our condolences for your loss."

Toni pulled her hand back, eyes narrowing slightly. "Thank you. I don't think she's ever mentioned you before."

While the man smiled warmly, his eyes were still and cold as he laughed. "Ah I doubt you would have heard of us; we haven't worked together since before you were born."

"How long are you both in town for?"

The man replied politely, "We'll be here for a week to see the sights and then we're back to London."

 _A week to investigate then._

"Well, it was a pleasure to meet you Miss Stark, but we should be going-"

"It wasn't an accident was it?"

"I'm sorry?"

"My mother was working a case before she died. It was no accident. You're both here to investigate to see if there are any _loose ends_."

Both the man and woman stared at her in stunned silence as Toni pulled her necklace to wave at them. "You are from the Men of Letters right? Tell me what you know."

A full bellied laugh escaped as Mick wiped tears from his eyes. The woman, Gwen, raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him as he turned back to Toni. "Well, Maria always did have a few extra tricks up her sleeve. Even now she continues to surprise us."

He straightened himself up before turning his gaze to Toni. "Miss Stark, all I can say is that the Men of Letters take care of our own, and we are doing everything to ensure that is matter is resolved. We don't take initiates until after you've become of legal age, and even then it's a long process."

"Now, because I know Maria, I'm sure that she's already started training with you. But, listen to me very carefully."

His eyes hardened as Toni retrained from shivering. "You've seen what happened to your mother. Whatever this was that killed her had the power and the influence to cover it up well. A fully trained member was killed, and your mother was one of the best there was. **Don't go investigating on your own.** "

He held up his hand as the protest died on Toni's lips, "I know that it's difficult to not do anything, but leave it to us. Otherwise, you put not only yourself in danger, but everyone else around you, and you wouldn't want that would you?"

Toni's mouth snapped shut as she bit back the retort on the tip of her tongue. She glanced over at Jarvis and Aunt Peggy waiting in the distance in the car. She nodded stiffly. Mick nodded approvingly

"Lovely. Please, take this."

The man slipped a small business card in her hand. It had a small Aquarian star on the front with only a phone number printed in the back.

"You seem to be as spirited as your mother, so while I know that I can only warn you against looking for trouble on your own, if you are ever in a situation where you feel like everything is dire, call me and I will do my best to assist you. Contact me as well if you are still looking to learn after you've come of age."

Mick nodded as he and Gwen turned to leave. "Stay safe Miss Stark, and take care."

Toni turned back once more to look at the bouquet of flowers on the gravestone. She pulled the small candle from her pocket, the scent of lavender filling the air as she set it down next to the flowers.

 _I'll find out what really happened, I promise._

Toni slipped the card into her pocket as she walked back to the car.

* * *

The reception was hushed but packed with people. Toni squeezed into a chair by an empty table in the far corner with a tired sigh.

It had taken a good half-hour to get to this corner; well-wishers and condolences were given as Toni was passed from handshake to handshake across the room. After a pleading look to Aunt Peggy, who charmingly and distractingly stepped into her conversation with a group of high society ladies, Toni took the offered escape and fled to the side of the room.

And now thankfully, she was mostly hidden in the corner behind a group of Howard's business partners, engaged deep in conversation about the market. Best of all they would be unlikely to disturb her as she leaned back in the shadows.

A throat cleared and Toni jumped in her seat.

"Oh, ah…I'm sorry ta scare ya. Is this seat taken?"

A polite but reluctant acceptance was on the tip of her tongue, but Toni stopped once she looked up at the man in front of her. He was an older bearded man, clearly out of place as he fidgeted eyes darting around the room. He wasn't wearing the thousand dollar suits that she was used to seeing, but a more practical business suit.

It was average, almost like he wanted to be unnoticed. Which unfortunately for him, made him stand out that much more in this crowd.

Toni watched as the man scanned the exits and windows, always watching for invisible threats ready to jump out of a corner. Not from the Men of Letters, so definitely a hunter then.

How interesting.

Toni let out a small laugh as she gestured for him to sit. She carefully scooped a glass of punch before setting it in front of him. She held out her right hand. "Toni Stark. How did you know my mother?"

He quickly reached out to shake her hand, his hand dwarfing hers. He took her hand carefully and shook it much more gently than expected.

"Bobby Singer. She was…an old friend."

Toni glanced up at him before nodding. "Ah, one of those old friends. So you're a hunter then?"

Bobby looked at her sharply, eyes quickly checking that no one was listening in. Satisfied, he studied her more closely, eyes stopping noticeably on the necklace she wore around her neck. "I didn't know that she shared with you her other former uh, _occupation_."

"She didn't. Voluntarily tell me that is. It was…more of a _necessity._ I don't think she would have told me otherwise."

Bobby's eyes grew large, then narrowed in understanding. "How did you know?"

"That you're a hunter?"

Bobby nodded. Toni took a sip of her punch before replying.

"No offence, but you don't fit the high society or hot shot executive type. You also checked all the entrances and windows before you sat down. Not to mention you recognized my necklace. I ran into the other Men of Letters yesterday, so that leaves you as a hunter."

A deep exhale escaped the man as he took a long swig of his punch, a wistful smile filling his face as he swirled the punch around in the glass. "Well I'll be damned. You really are your mother's daughter."

They sat in a comfortable silence, eyes drifting over the crowd. Bobby placed his hand gently over hers before squeezing. "I'm sorry about Maria. She was a good friend of mine."

He reached into his jacket pocket, sliding a folded picture across to her. Toni gently unfolded the creased photo. It was a photograph of her mother, grinning widely as her arm was casually thrown over Bobby's and another man. They looked like they were dragged through the mud. Maria's lip was cut and looked like it was dripping blood while Bobby had a black eye forming. Even though it looked like they were about to collapse, all of them were grinning from ear to ear.

There was a scribbled inscription on the back, but Toni could only make out the names, _Maria, Rufus and Bobby._

"That was after one of our hunts. Maria was helping me and my partner Rufus with a Baku. I thought that you might want to keep this…"

Toni clutched the worn photo to her chest, nodding in thanks.

Bobby straightened in his seat, studying her before leaning in. He pulled out a pen from his pocket before scribbling out a phone number on a napkin. "I'm guessing that the chances of you staying away is slim to none, so I'll just say this. If you ever find yerself in any kind of trouble, call me. I mean it."

Bobby grasped her arm, forcing Toni to look up. "Promise me. Don't get yourself hurt out there kid."

Toni nodded. "I promise."

She quickly wrapped him in a quick hug before letting go. "Thanks."

Bobby nodded, extending his arm before retracting it again. He settled on a quick pat on the arm before sliding the napkin towards her. "Remember, anytime. I'll be there."

* * *

Toni fidgeted as she stared down at Howard's desk in front of her. Howard sipped his tea before turning back to his papers in front of him. Even from where she stood, Toni could smell the strong stench of whiskey. Ever since the funeral, it wasn't uncommon to see Howard with a drink in hand.

"So, you start MIT in a week. If you want to be treated like an adult, I expect that you act like one. None of the foolishness that happened at school before will be tolerated anymore, is that clear? Maria may have coddled you, but that type of behaviour will not be happening again. The press will be watching your every move, and I will **not** have you tarnishing the Stark name. Am I clear?"

Toni bit down on her lip to stop the retort on the tip of her tongue from spilling out. "Yes."

"Speak up girl, don't mumble. Am I clear?"

Toni spit out, "Yes."

Toni let out a sharp gasp, Howard's fingers tightening as they grasped her shoulder. "Don't sass me girl, I can pull you out of school faster than you can blink."

He let go just as quickly as Toni stumbled back in shock. Howard turned back to the papers on his desk, dismissing her as he picked up his cup of tea.

Toni fled as quickly as she could, slamming her room door shut. She slid onto the floor, heart pounding as she closed her eyes trying to breathe. Her hands shook as she clutched at her sweater, pulling it off her shoulder. Angry finger shaped marks stared back at her as hot tears streamed down her face. Toni clenched her fists as she shook into her knees.

 _One week. One week. I'll be gone in one week._

* * *

Red eyes chased her as Howard's laughter rang out from all directions. Howard's red eyes converged on her as Toni stood trapped, unable to move. Howard drew closer and closer as Toni screamed.

Toni's eyes flew open as ripped the covers off. Drenched in sweat, she fumbled towards her nightstand grasping for the matchbox. It took three tries before the match stayed lit, the candle flickering before lighting the room in a soft glow.

The scent of lavender filled the air as Toni wrapped herself in her blankets, clutching at the bears beside her. She watched as the wick slowly burned, eyes drifting shut hours later.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this chapter took a while - I threw away at least 3 different drafts and I'm not entirely sure I'm happy with this one. I'm also not Catholic, so I apologize if there is anything there I got wrong. As always, please let me know what you thought! Next up will be MIT!


	4. In Omnia Paratus (Chapter 1)

A/N: **This is a divergence from the main story, and takes place in an alternate future a few years after Toni and Rhodey meet at MIT**. Parts of this were actually supposed to be in the next chapter, but it didn't quite fit into the main story so you all get this new what-if branch instead. Enjoy!

 ** _In Omnia Paratus_**

 **Chapter 1**

* * *

 **Monday [9:44pm]**

Rhodey cursed as he stubbed his toe stumbling into his dark apartment. He wiggled it while he dropped the grocery bags onto the counter. The apartment wasn't much, but at least it meant that he was living out of the dorms. Even with Toni's weird hours, she was a much better roommate than the guys he was forced to share living space with before. Flashbacks of overflowing sinks stacked with dirty dishes and tripping over piles of dirty laundry still haunted him to this day.

Although, this new arrangement did mean that Rhodey was now grocery shopping for two. The first time Toni did the grocery shopping on her own, they ate nothing but cereal and blueberries for a week and ran out of toilet paper. Rhodey refused to let her go on her own ever again.

Rhodey paused as he realized that the lights were all off. Most Monday nights, Toni was home after marathon lab sessions that day. _Even if I was away the whole week, she's normally back by now…_

After fumbling with the light switch, he paused after closing the door behind him, strolling to the fridge. A note was scribbled on the back of a take-out menu.

Rhodey cursed loudly as he scanned the page, grabbing his phone and keys before sprinting out the door.

 _Rhodeybear,_

 _I finally got an invite to one of those 'Life and Death Brigade' parties I was telling you about! We'll see whether this_ _cult (sorry,_ _'secret society') is connected at all to the Men of Letters like we researched, or if it's just a bunch of rich frat boy thrill seekers. It looks like it's going to be an all-weekend thing, so I won't be back until Monday. Don't worry, I'll be fine - I still have my tracker in my bag for emergencies (you know, if the death part become more likely than the life part…ha)._

 _Don't roll your eyes at that._

 _Seriously, don't find me until after the weekend. I brought all my gear and enough salt and iron to cleanse a whole graveyard._

 _If you're reading this on a Monday night, I give you full permission to deploy the rescue squad._

 _Toni_

 _(P.S. If I came back before Monday, you know I would've burned this note. Stop reading this and come help me.)_

* * *

 **(4 days ago)**

 **Thursday [7:15pm]**

Toni sighed as she filled her plate with more hors d'oeuvres _. If I eat enough of these, maybe I might have something to throw up if I have to listen_ _ **one more time**_ _about how Tiberius Stone is such a 'wonderful and eligible bachelor.'_

Laughter filled the room as the string quartet continued to play in the background, people milling around the room. Glasses were never empty as waiters flitted around the ballroom efficiently around the party guests.

 _Think of the apartment…think of the apartment…_

Toni was extremely suspicious when Howard offered to pay for her and Rhodey to move into a relatively small, but nice apartment blocks away from campus. _All I want is for you to attend the company parties I ask you to attend. They're important for Stark Industries, and beneficial for you to attend._

 _The things I do for hot water and an apartment that doesn't feel like it came out of an episode of Law and Order._ Toni looked at her empty plate wistfully. Her and Rhodey did try to find something on their own, but after the third apartment with rats and weird stains on the ceiling, Toni had caved and agreed to the occasional charity luncheon and ball.

 _Why couldn't his cousin's wedding be next week instead_? _At least then he would have to suffer with me_ , sighed Toni glumly, as she fought to avoid eye contact with the ladies from the Daughters of the American Revolution. The DAR ladies were determined in pulling Toni into their ranks, and tried at every dinner.

Toni expertly twirled to grab a crab cake off the passing tray, maneuvering herself into a corner of the room. Couples glided across the dance floor as dresses glittered in the bright light. Toni's eyes wandered over the crowd as she focused in on a couple talking off to the side.

 _Maybe this night is going to work out better than planned after all._

Toni wandered closer, sizing up the pair. While the man laughed at the right jokes and smiled politely, Toni caught the flash of panic in his eyes every time the woman slid closer to touch his arm.

 _Well hello Mrs. Robinson. So much for being subtle._

"Mrs. Henderson, I didn't know that you were going to be here tonight!"

Toni slid her arm into the man's, gently pulling him to her side. Mrs. Henderson eyes snapped to their linked arms as the man looked at her startled. Toni raised an eyebrow back at him. He blinked slowly, then looked back at her gratefully before his face settled back.

Mrs. Henderson's eyes flashed angrily as she pressed her lips into a forced smile.

"Well if it isn't Natasha Stark! I wasn't aware that the two of you were acquainted!"

Toni flashed a smile back at her. "Oh of course! Who doesn't know the infamous Bruce Wayne?" Toni pouted, nudging the man beside her. "You did promise me a dance after all"

"I did indeed. I apologize Mrs. Henderson, but I did promise Miss Stark a dance earlier and I do believe that Mr. Henderson seems to be looking for you over there in the corner. Excuse us."

Bruce smiled charmingly as he led Toni onto the dance floor. The notes to the next song were just starting, as Toni placed her hand in Bruce's as they expertly waltzed around the room.

"How did you know to come to my rescue?"

Toni snorted as she smirked at him. "Please, your eyes were flashing large neon signs screaming HELP ME from across the room."

"Oh? I wasn't aware that I was giving myself away that easily."

"Your act may fool many people Wayne, but fortunately for you, I am not one of them."

"My act?"

The musicians started to speed up as they transitioned into the next song. Bruce and Toni didn't miss a step as they moved seamlessly into a Viennese Waltz.

"Your Casanova act is pretty good, but I've seen better."

"Ah, you wound me Miss Stark. But, I suppose I've never had the opportunity to meet a woman like you."

Bruce leered down at her, eyes drifting down to her chest clearly. Toni noted that while anyone watching would think that he was clearly interested, Toni saw the flash of caution that entered his eyes. _How intriguing._

Toni slid a pleasant smile on her face. _He's good at this game, but I'm much better_.

"Oh I'm _so_ sorry."

Toni 'accidentally' stepped on his foot as she faltered in her steps. Bruce barely winced as he quickly recovered. Toni saw his eyes narrow slightly as he looked at her eyes, innocent as she blinked up at him.

"It's no problem Miss Stark, although I'm curious what I can do to re-pay you for your help. I'm sure there's something that can _mutually benefit us both_."

Toni felt hands wander slowly down her back. _He thinks he can outplay me does he?_

Toni smirked at him, drawing her hands behind his neck as a slow dance started to play. A smooth, slow jazz reverberated throughout the room as they swayed. She drew their bodies in close, her lips a breath away from his ear.

"Well there _is_ something you can do for me, but I'm sure it's not something you've done before."

Bruce's voice dropped a notch. "And what is that exactly?"

"Take me to one of your Life and Death Brigade meetings."

Bruce's expression didn't change, but Toni's lips twitched as she felt him inhale. _Gotcha._

"I'm not sure what you mean by that. Is that a club of sorts?"

"Don't play coy with me Wayne, you know _exactly_ what I'm talking about. Yale is not a very big place after all, and I do have proof that your father was a member, which logically means that you are also a member."

The couple was silent for the next few minutes, whispers could be heard as they felt eyes on them all around the room. Bruce turned his head, his words quiet, but clear in her ear.

"Suppose I might have an idea of what you speak. Why do you want to go?"

Toni paused, deciding on her words carefully. "Mostly curiosity I suppose …I think my mother was a member when she was at Yale. I know it sounds stupid-"

Toni's voice wavered slightly as she swallowed "I know it sounds stupid, but I wanted to see what it might have been life for her…"

"It's not stupid."

Toni looked up, eyes meeting Bruce's soft gaze. Applause broke out around them as the band on stage bowed, moving to take a short break. Bruce grasped her hand, kissing it with a flourish.

"I would free up your weekend Miss Stark. Tomorrow afternoon is a prime time to stay home and pack."

Bruce kissed the back of her hand with a flourish before disappearing into the crowd.

Toni let out a sigh of relief. _Checkmate._

* * *

 **Friday [2:45pm]**

A sharp knock at the front door had Toni tripping out of her room through the living room. Toni cursed as she stubbed her toe on the corner as she stumbled to the front door. After peeking through the hole, Toni laughed as she opened the door to face the masked man in the hallway.

He wore a black pinstriped suit with a silver tie. His face was covered fully with a large gorilla mask, with dark beady eyes staring back as the man handed over a silk blindfold, large wrapped box and envelope. He nodded sweeping down into a bow before leaving.

Toni closed the door behind her with her foot as she moved to the table to set down the present. It was wrapped in crimson paper with a large black bow. After locking the front door, she tore open the envelope in her hand.

It was an invitation, printed on thick card stock with ink in a cursive silver.

 _Be ready in two hours. Wear the blindfold and wait outside your apartment. Prepare to be gone for the weekend._

 _In Omnia Paratus_

Inside the box was to no surprise, a gorilla mask and a black silk blindfold. _Well, that's a strange line between weird and creepy._

Toni marched to her room, grabbing the duffle bag out of the closet before she started throwing clothes onto her bed.

Toni smirked as she stuck an extra vial of holy water at the bottom of her bag _. Jarvis always did say to be prepared._

 _This is stupid._

Toni tapped her foot as she stood outside her apartment door, duffle bag on the ground beside her. She felt stupid standing in the middle of the hallway leaning against the wall. Five people walked past her alarmed, repeatedly asking her if everything was alright.

Toni was just about ready to walk back inside when she felt someone take the duffle bag from her shoulder. She tensed before she heard a familiar whisper in her ear.

"In Omnia Paratus."

Toni punched the man beside her, smirking in satisfaction as she heard in wince. "How's that for being ready for anything hmm?"

Bruce chuckled, leading her by the arm. "You got me there. Please keep the blindfold on until I say you can take it off."

After finally making it outside the building, Toni felt herself being led to the side of the car. _Passenger side, two doors from what I can feel. I can't hear anyone else in the car, so it's just the two of us._

She heard Bruce slide in beside her. "If you're trying to kidnap and murder me in the woods somewhere, I swear I will come back as a vengeful spirit and haunt you."

The engine purred to life as she felt the car pull out of the parking lot. She heard a quiet laugh beside her.

"Well damn. I better tell everyone to cancel. I guess the murder and human sacrifice will have to wait another year."

"Come on, blindfolds and being driven to a 'mysterious place'. That screams 'bloody murder' to me."

"You're the one who wanted to come in the first place."

"Well, I thought we'd be heading there like normal people would. You know? Like, nothing that would fit the plot of a cheesy B-horror flick."

"If I'd planned to kill you, I wouldn't have told you to wait out in the hallway where people no doubt would have seen you."

Bruce held back a wince as Toni slugged him in the shoulder.

"I _knew_ you did that on purpose. Trying to make me feel embarrassed in the hallway did nothing. I've done much weirder things than that."

Toni could hear the smile in his voice as he replied. "Noted. Next function, I'm going to get you to expand on that. Luckily for you, we're almost there."

Toni felt as the car rattled a bit, noting the subtle transition from pavement to dirt around ten minutes back. _Spooky cult in the woods, check._

The car pulled to a stop as she felt Bruce get out and walk around to the passenger side door. He grabbed her duffle bag in one hand and guided her out with the other.

He kept a firm grip on her slowly leading her through the woods. She could hear the crickets chirp all around her as they made their way deeper into the forest. After a while, ten minutes maybe, they stopped as Bruce pulled on her arm gently.

He undid the blindfold as he whispered in her ear. "Remember, no pictures and no acknowledging that you've met anyone here outside of this weekend."

Toni nodded as the blindfold was pulled off. She blinked a few times, wincing as she re-adjusted to the light once again, then inhaled sharply.

Fairy lights glittered throughout the branches of the trees, lowly lighting the campsite. A long table with a white tablecloth adorned the middle of the camp. A group of masked gorillas laughed as they sipped tea, plates filled with decadent pastries. In the center of the table, three large tiers of assorted pastries threatened to topple over as the tea drinkers swiped more onto their plates.

Off to the side, more masked revellers shouted as they played what looked like some version of cricket, except instead of cricket bats, they were using plastic pink flamingos to hit the ball. On the opposite side, some sort of Japanese tea ceremony was being performed, if a geisha in a gorilla mask was performing it.

"Come on."

Toni glanced over and followed Bruce to the small cluster of tents on the edge of the campsite. He led her to a smaller tent, closer to the edge of the woods. He handed her back her duffle bag before indicating to the white tent in front of him.

"This is yours for the weekend. I thought that you'd enjoy something a bit quieter in case you needed a break."

His lips twitched as he slid his mask firmly on his face before replacing his top hat. "Remember, don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"That doesn't narrow much down."

"Ouch, the lady wounds me. Well then, I'll take my leave. Try to have some fun." Bruce bowed his head before heading back to the crowd.

Toni let out a breath before walking through the small flaps of her tent. _Huh, well so much for 'camping'._

The tent was adorned with a small cot that was probably more comfortable than the dorm beds at MIT. A small lantern hung from the ceiling that looked like an antique lantern, but at closer inspection, was easily turned on and off with a small switch. A small side table stood next to the cot, with a metal basin and a large jug of water.

Toni set down her duffle bag before turning to the long white box on her bed. A beautiful Victorian styled crimson gown lay inside. Thankfully, while it appeared to have a corset styled waist, Toni relaxed as she saw that it had a discreet zipper in the side, happy that she would be able to breathe normally.

 _And Rhodey thought that these garter holsters would be useless._

Toni happily slid a silver knife on thigh, while the other carried her small vial of holy water. She stared longingly at her pistol, but even she knew that it would be a bit much. She hummed as she sild her mask into place, straightening her hair one last time in the mirror before heading out of the tent.

 _How bad can it be?_

* * *

 **(Sometime much later)**

 _Apparently, absolutely fucking ridiculous._

Toni is no stranger to reckless endangerment, that much she could admit to herself. Pepper swears that her grey hairs were all from herding Toni away from an early grave. Rhodey yells at her weekly for constantly 'scaring the shit out of him.' Although, in her defence, Rhodey is usually with her every time; he just happens to mysteriously disappear once Pepper shows up with a scowl.

But this? Even Toni can admit that this was _fucking stupid._

She stood on the edge of the cliff, staring down at the river flowing through the canyon below.

 _Well, if the jump doesn't kill me, at least Rhodey will. How did I agree to this in the first place?_

* * *

A/N: Fun fact - Yale did in fact gift an honourary law degree to Bruce Wayne.

Let me know what you think so far! In this divergence, I'm debating whether to pair Toni up with someone (other than Rhodey), so let me know if there is any interest there! It will most likely be between Bruce and Sam. Chapter 4 of Woman of Letters will likely be up next, so you're going to get to see Toni and Rhodey meet for the first time.


	5. Woman of Letters (Chapter 4)

**Chapter 4**

 **Toni Stark: Woman of Letters**

* * *

 **A/N:** **Please forewarned that this chapter has a scene of attempted sexual assault.**

 **[Oct 31, 1994 - Cambridge, Massachusetts.]**

 _Just breathe Toni, remember you're here to kill ghosts, not people._ Toni opened her eyes, exhaling slowly as she grabbed the hand on her ass and dug her nails in. The drunk frat boy yelped as he clutched his hand, his friends howling in laughter as he cursed, stumbling his way back to them.

Toni continued to push her way through the bodies, making her way to the edge of the makeshift dancefloor in the living room. Music was blaring as the bass shook the opulent house, a koi pond catching the eye beneath the large winding staircase at the entrance.

Further inside, couches were pushed aside as cob-webs and streamers glimmered in the dim light. A large katana sword was displayed over the mantle of the fireplace, but was (thankfully) covered by stacks and stacks of overflowing red cups. A bonsai tree was shoved into a corner behind the DJ table as the music blared loudly. Toni finally made her way to the refreshments table, filled with pumpkin shaped cookies and a glowing green punch.

Standing off to the side, Toni surveyed the room. _Nothing weird yet._ Toni adjusted her proton pack and brushed glitter off her grey jumpsuit. _Who seriously uses that much glitter to decorate? That shit is impossible to clean off._ Toni glowered at her glitter infested pants. She shifted her proton pack as she dusted as much as she could off her legs.

The one saving grace of being forced to come to come to this party, was the fact that Toni was never going to pass up getting to hunt ghosts in her Ghostbuster costume. Toni spent the last week taking apart an old vacuum, getting it as close to the movie original as possible.

Plus, she added a compartment and a switch to shoot out salt, so yes it can repel ghosts. Toni was super proud of that. She slipped off the proton pack, setting it down at her feet as she stretched.

"Well, well well boys, look what the cat dragged in."

Toni stiffened as she glared at the leers as the group circled her.

"Oh look we have dumb, dumber and dumbest. Seriously guys, the point of Halloween is to come dressed in costumes, not wear your football jerseys."

"Such a smart mouth Stark relax, you don't have to be so _tense_ all the time." Ty's arm wrapped around her shoulder as he stroked her wrist. Toni moved to tug herself away, but Ty tightened his hold around her wrist as Toni hissed.

"Come on Stark, don't be like that. We'll show you a good time, won't we boys?"

A dark rage filled Toni as she twisted her arm out of his tight grip before stomping down hard on Ty's foot. "Believe me, Ty I would rather throw myself off a cliff before going anywhere with _you_."

Ty howled as the surrounding crowd laughed. Grabbing her proton pack, Toni quickly slipped away as the crowd cackled around her.

Toni grabbed one of the red cups of punch off the table, downing it as she made her way through the dance floor. She watched the crowd as she slowly made her way across the room. There were 3 deaths so far, with the only thing connecting all of them being that they all attended frat parties the week of their death.

Which in itself, was not uncommon, but as Aunt Peggy had always said, follow your instincts darling. And Toni's instincts were hardly ever wrong. The coincidence was too strong, and screamed supernatural.

Toni danced her way about halfway before the beat picked up and trapped her once again as the dancers recognized the familiar tune. A flicker out of the corner of her eye made her turn. As she turned to look, she saw nothing, but felt something in her peripheral vision.

Colours started to flash and the room started to spin as Toni finally stumbled across to the edge of the crowd of dancers. Toni blinked hard as the vision of a small dark haired girl wearing a torn white dress stared back at her at the top of the stairs. She blinked again as the girl disappeared once again.

 _Fuck, they spiked the punch with something extra._

Toni stumbled up the stairs as she looked desperately for the girl. The proton pack on her back felt heavier and heavier as she made her way up the stairs. She unclipped it as she moved toward the empty bathroom. A hand darted out and grabbed her, shoving her against the dark wall on the other side.

A hand grasped around her throat as she felt others hold her hips against the wall. Toni panicked as her vision grew blurry and the hands holding her squeezed harder.

"You little bitch! You think you can humiliate **me** Stark? You've got another thing coming. Hold her down."

Toni screamed as her limbs refused to cooperate. She felt hands starting to rip at her uniform as she heard the rustling of a belt being removed.

 _No no no no no_ _ **NO.**_

She clutched at the arm around her neck, and with the last of her strength and bit down hard. The arm let go as Toni slid down the wall. She felt hands drop her as she collapsed to the floor. Hands gripped at her hips as she desperately tried to move. Another arm slowly gripped at her throat, cutting off her airway as she gasped for air. Toni's hands darted out as she clawed and thrashed, spots dancing at the side of her vision as she started to slump.

"What the _fuck_ is going on here?"

Toni watched as the dark haired man took in the scene, eyes flicking from her torn costume to Ty looming over her. Toni let out a sob as the newcomer realised what was happening and moved. Suddenly, Ty and the rest of the guys were pulled away as Ty was punched in the face. The remaining group of guys stumbled away quickly, as Ty clutched at his bleeding nose.

"Get the fuck out of this house, and don't you dare touch her again. If I ever see you at one of these parties again, I will find you, and I will end you."

As Ty and his goons scrambled away, Toni cried in relief as she clung to her dark haired saviour.

"Hey, are you okay? Did you need me to call someone? The police?"

Toni shook her head as the arms around her tightened. She looked up into worried eyes as the world turned dark.

* * *

A dimly lit bedroom slowly came into focus as Toni tried to sit up. Her head pounded as the world started to spin. Toni took a few shaky breaths as felt a gentle hand on her shoulder steadying her.

"Whoa, careful there."

Toni tensed as she glanced up. The dark-haired man from earlier quickly backed away a few steps. Far enough to give her some breathing room, but close enough to catch her if she blacked out again. Toni relaxed in gratitude and glanced down at the leather jacket that had slipped off when she sat up. She let out a clear sigh of relief as she saw that while torn in places, the rest of her costume remained in tact.

"Here you should drink some water."

Toni grabbed the offered water bottle, twisting the plastic lid and sipping slowly. Music continued to thrum through the floor as Toni recognized the hallway through the cracked door. She peered at her worried savior who took a seat in the armchair across from the bed.

"Thanks for your help. Normally I would be able to handle them, but well-"

"Yeah I get it, don't worry about it. I'm James Rhodes."

Toni took his offered hand, "I'm Toni."

He looked at her bruised wrist more closely. "Do you need me to take you to the hospital?"

"No," Toni quickly cut off, slowly retracting her hand back, "no, thankfully you got there before. Well, before they could. Do anything that is."

He let out a clear sigh of relief. "Don't worry about them pulling something like that again. I told a friend of mine who runs these parties, and you can be sure they won't be welcomed back again."

The door slammed open as a couple tripped into the room. "Whoops, sorry! Looks like this room is taken babe." The redheaded cheerleader dragged her girlfriend back into the hallway as they closed the door behind them. Giggles followed them as they continued down the hallway, music continuing to shake the walls from below.

Toni snorted before taking a long gulp of water.

Rhodes watched her carefully, checking to see if there were any injuries he missed. He paused, watching her carefully, "Do you want to press charges? I can go to the police with you if you want, having a witness will help to build a case-"

Toni smiled sadly as she sipped the last of her water. "Thanks for the offer, but I can guarantee you that they won't press charges."

"But-"

"Ty's uncle is a friend of the crown prosecutor. He skipped out on impaired driving charges with a slap on the wrist, and something like this wouldn't be any different. His father has an entire fleet of lawyers to make sure of it."

Toni laughed as Rhodes muttered angrily about 'rich assholes' and 'the injustice of it all'.

She slipped the jacket off, handing it back. Rhodes shook his head. "Nah, you keep it. It's a shame that those assholes had to go and ruin your costume though. It looks fantastic."

Toni glanced at his matching ghostbuster costume and grinned. "Well great minds think alike. Did you make it yourself?"

Rhodes grinned as he looked down, "Yeah, Mama Rhodes was forceful in making sure I knew how to sew before leaving for college. Guess it came in handy for Halloween. I wish I had a proton pack though - that would have made it amazing."

Toni's eyes widened as she remembered dropping hers. _Fuck, the girl._

Toni stumbled off the bed, legs still shaky as she made her way towards the door. Rhodes quickly steadied her as he supported her shoulders. "Whoa, what's the rush? You should rest, I don't think you should be-"

"There's no time! I've got to find her-"

"Find who?"

A faint scream echoed off the walls as Toni and Rhodes reached the doorway. Glancing at each other, they quickly rushed toward the scream down the hall.

* * *

Rhodes half carried, half dragged Toni with him down the hallway as they turned the corner at the end of the hall. Another scream, much louder and clearer, echoed off the walls as Toni and Rhodey drew closer.

"Wait!"

They were almost outside the bathroom they were in before; Toni ducked into the closet where she dropped her proton pack. Slipping it back on, she darted back out to Rhodes as they continued toward the screams.

"While that thing looks fantastic, and I'd really like to ask you later where you got it-"

"I made it."

"You _made_ it? Holy shit you're going to have to go over with me how you did that- okay getting side-tracked here. Tell me why you felt the need to carry heavy thing around now?"

"Trust me. I have a feeling we'll need it."

They reached the last bedroom at the end of the hallway as they heard a shattering noise. Toni sucked in a harsh breath as they took in the scene.

"Shit."

The couple earlier who had stumbled in their room earlier were cowering in the corner, one of them wielding a candlestick holder, the other a large broken piece of a vase, the rest of which lay shattered on the ground beside them. They whimpered as the clutched their makeshift weapons, staring at the bed.

On top of the bed in the middle of the room lay another couple, clearly dead as their stomachs were slashed open, dripping onto the bedspread underneath them. The little girl from before stood beside the bodies, eyes darting up as Toni and Rhodes entered the doorway.

Rhodes blanched at the sight as he took a few steps back. "Holy fuck. They're _dead._ But, who did _that_ -"

Toni unclipped the neutrona wand as she took aim. Clicking on the power, she glanced over at the girls in the corner watching her as she held the trigger. "As soon as I shoot, run."

Toni turned back to the girl and pressed the trigger.

CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.

Three shots of salt rounds fired, and the girls in the corner sprinted out of the room and down the hallway. Toni hit the girl square in the chest. The shots landed squarely in the chest, but Toni stiffened and started to back away quickly as the ghost shrugged off the salt rounds, hissing as she prowled towards Toni and Rhodes.

"Oh fuck. Run-run-run-run-"

"What were you shooting at? Run from what? OH SHIT."

Toni and Rhodes flew backwards, slamming into the hallway as the ghost drew closer.

Toni winced as she scrambled to her feet, pulling Rhodes up alongside her as she ran down the hall. Toni turned the corner before sliding open the conservatory doors and slamming it shut behind them. They quickly made their way down the winding staircase. A large indoor Shinto garden surrounded them as Toni led them to the back, past the rock gardens and indoor pond.

Toni pulled Rhodes into the smaller obscured and hidden room attached to the back. A giant bag of fertilizer leaned against a collection of garden tools. She checked behind them and let out a short sigh of relief as she caught her breath.

"It doesn't seem to be following us."

Rhodes slid to the ground next to her as he leaned against the counter. "What exactly was following us? And how the hell did it _throw us against the wall_?"

Toni raised an eyebrow. "Oh I don't know, remember that terrifying little girl spirit that stood menacingly over the bodies before she tried to eat us as well?"

Rhodes gaped as his mouth closed and opened several times. "What little girl? **I didn't see anyone in that room other than those two girls in the corner.** "

Toni stared at him, eyes narrowing in concentration. "You didn't see her at all?"

Rhodes slid a hand through his hair as he shook his head. "If I wasn't thrown into the hallway a second later, I probably would have insisted going to the hospital in getting your head checked." He straightened before looking more closely at Toni. "But you have an idea of what's going on; you tried to shoot something at it. What was it?"

Toni patted her pack. "Salt. Spirits are usually weakened by salt, but for some reason, this thing just got really angry after I shot it. They also usually manifest after the first shot, so the fact that you still didn't see it, and it's sudden Rambo power-up tells me that it's probably something different."

Rhodes stared at her, blinking slowly. "A spirit. As in a ghost. As in you re-worked your proton pack to actually hunt ghosts."

Toni laughed as she grinned. "Got it in one go! You're taking it much better than I thought you'd might."

Rhodes groaned. "Please don't tell me you're a real-life ghostbuster."

Toni snickered as she popped her head back out and back in; the coast was still clear. "Kind of? Technically, I'm not _supposed_ to before I turn 18-"

Rhodes inhaled sharply behind her, eyes narrowing down at her. "You're a minor? And those assholes that you knew still tried, still tried-"

Toni let out a sharp laugh. "Yeah I know, a real piece of work Tiberius Stone."

"Shit."

Toni glanced up, a warmth filling her as Rhodes muttered darkly to himself. She's never quite fit in at MIT; all the teachers looked at her with apprehension, while the rest of the students tended to ignore her. While she was super thankful that she got her own private room, it was…nice to finally have someone here actually be concerned about her for once.

Rhodes stretched out his neck as he slowly got back to his feet. "So what's the plan? How are we going to get rid of this thing?"

"We?'

Rhodes gave her a sharp look. "You obviously came to the party prepared; you were going to fight this thing one way or another. There's no way I'm going to let you go back there on your own-"

"It's dangerous-"

Rhodes cut her off with a knowing glance. "I know. There's no way I'm just letting some kid go in by herself to get killed-"

Toni stiffened and glared. "I'm not a kid-"

"How old are you exactly? 12? 13?"

Toni glared at him mutinously "I'm 15 you jerk."

Rhodes raised an eyebrow in retaliation, a grin on his lips as Toni pouted. "Like I said, I'm not just letting a kid go off on her own without some backup. I may not know what you do, but let me help."

Toni considered him silently before letting out a sigh. "Alright Rhodeybear, let's get to work then."

Rhodey gave her a deadpan stare. "Rhodeybear?"

Toni smirked. "You attacked those guys like a mama bear protecting her cub. Face it cupcake, you even snarled."

Another scream reverberated faintly in the distance.

Toni sighed. "We better hurry."

* * *

 **A/N: Any guesses on what Toni and Rhodey are fighting? Let me know what you think!**


	6. Woman of Letters (Chapter 5)

**Chapter 5**

 **Toni Stark: Woman of Letters**

* * *

"…so long story short, there's been a string of mysterious deaths linked to these parties, and you think this ghost or spirit is the cause of it. You shot salt earlier, which weakened it, but mostly served to piss it off."

Toni and Rhodey sat on top of the bridge, feet dangling off as they kept an eye on both entrances. Toni clenched her jaw, fists tightening at her side.

The echoed screams still reverberated in her mind.

Two more people were dead, maybe more, and it was _all her fault._

If only she got there earlier. If only she didn't drink that _stupid punch_ …

"Hey, stop it."

Rhodey looked down at her, nudging her with his shoulder. "I can the wheels turning in your eyes. None of it was your fault. You didn't kill them, that ghost thing did."

"If I got there faster-"

"Then maybe you'd be lying there with them. That thing nearly took both of us out, and we got there just in time to save those two girls. It wasn't your fault Toni; you won't be able to save everyone. You'll destroy yourself if you try, and what good would that be to anyone?"

Toni let out a shaky sigh. "You sound like my Aunt Peggy."

Rhodey grinned. "Sounds like a smart woman."

Toni let out a full laugh. "You have no idea." She straightened before gazing back at the still water.

"What I don't understand, is why can't you see it? And why didn't that thing follow us in here? It isn't a normal spirit or ghost; if it was, the salt would have slowed it down at least…"

Rhodey stared at the door and frowned. "Is there a reason that it couldn't, or didn't, want to follow us in here?"

Toni blew a strand of hair out of her face. "You mean it didn't want to swim in the pond here? Very Japanese inspired. You don't see very many rock gardens indoors…"

Toni trailed off as her eyes widened. She quickly leapt up, spinning as she scanned the room. "That's it! Right there!"

Towards the back of the garden hidden behind the alcove, there was an intricate wooden alter. Small circular mirrors glinted in the bright lights, and small offerings of rice, fruit and small cups filled with water sat at the base.

"This garden is protected by the shrine. It all makes sense!"

Rhodey stared up at the alter, eyebrows raising. "It does?"

"It didn't follow us here because it didn't want to, but because it _couldn't_ …"

Toni whipped around to face Rhodey, eyes wild. "Did you have anything to drink tonight?"

"What?"

Rolling her eyes, Toni huffed. "Did you keg it up? Down some shots? Play flip cup? Anything at all?"

Rhodey snorted, shaking his head. "Nah, I had an early test tomorrow, so I was only planning on dropping by for a bit before going back to study. I didn't have any tonight."

Toni let out a long sigh, brow narrowing as she pinched her nose. "Well. that confirms it. This just got a lot more complicated."

"What is it then?"

"It's a Shōjō - a Japanese spirit that loves spirits, so not a real shocker it found its way to this party. Their victims are usually too intoxicated to fight back; not that they really need the help, you saw what it can do."

"So in order to see it-"

"You need to be skunk drunk? Pretty much. That's why you didn't see anything earlier."

"So the problem is?"

"The problem, is that it can't be killed by my normal ghostbusting salt-n-shoot routine. This thing is useless." Toni undid the straps before sliding off the proton pack. "Malevolent spirits usually attach themselves to something, I'm guessing probably a sake bottle somewhere, but we have no idea where that could be. And to top that all off, even if we destroy the thing that ties it, I have no fucking idea if that will actually destroy it for good, or make it angrier."

"So…we're screwed."

"Probably. Maybe…"

Toni slid her wallet out from her boot, slipping out the small scribbled napkin folded neatly inside.

"We might have a fighting chance after all. Any idea where we can find a phone around here?"

* * *

"Uh huh….no….yes….got it. No, you don't have to drive all the way out here Bobby, I've got some backup here, just tell me what I need to do…"

Toni twirled the phone cord around her finger as sat at the writing desk, feet propped up on the edge of the corner. Rhodey fidgeted on the uncomfortable fainting couch in the center of the room. Why anyone would actually buy a fainting couch was beyond him. Rhodey stretched out his neck, rolling it around as he closed his eyes.

 _That girl has no self-preservation instincts whatsoever._

The party downstairs had still been going strong; the music was blasting, and more and more alcohol was pouring every second. Toni motioned the all-clear as they slowly made their way through the living room.

Rhodey leaned in, yelling into Toni's ear. "We have to get these people out of here!"

"I got this" Toni chirped.

Rhodey could only watch in bewilderment as Toni stopped in the middle of the room. She reached up and pulled the plug from the DJ's speaker. A resounding silence filled the room before the yells of protest started. Toni cupped her hands around her mouth.

"COPS! THE COPS ARE COMING!"

The pandemonium was instantaneous. People shrieked as they stumbled to the doors, some unlatching windows as they jumped onto the lawn and into the night. Couples sprinted down the stairs and out the front door as others chugged their drinks, tossing their red cups before tripping out of the house.

Rhodey barely managed to grab a hold of Toni's hand as he pulled her to the side of the room, back into the hallway before they ducked into the parlour.

"Next time, warn me before you plan on unleashing a rampage."

Toni grinned. "Well, it worked didn't it? Hopefully they'll all be out before that Shōjō goes hunting for more prey again." Toni's eyes brightened as she focused on the phone sitting on the desk. "And look, a phone! This shouldn't take long, sit tight Honeybear!"

* * *

"…thanks Bobby. I'll call you later."

Toni slid the phone back into its cradle with a click. She then slumped forward in her seat, groaning as she slumped her head forward into the desk with a thump.

Rhodey peered up from the couch. "Bad news?"

Toni melted further into the chair as she lifted her head from her arms, wincing as she felt the growing bruises on her neck. _Great, turtlenecks for the next week._ "Good news is, we do know how to kill it. Bad news is, we might be dead before we do."

Rhodey sucked in a harsh breath. "Why's that?"

Toni exhaled slowly, carding her fingers through her hair in frustration. "Honestly, I think we might just be out of luck. Apparently the only recorded way that one of these things have been killed is…ridiculously specific."

"Specific, how?"

"Specific as in using a Samurai sword doused in holy water, blessed by a Shinto priest. Which I didn't exactly pack…"

Toni's stomach clenches, a rueful smile on her lips. "I think that you should leave while you can. I already pissed it off, but you still have a fighting chance."

Before Rhodey could open his mouth, Toni holds up her hand. "Thanks for everything Rhodes. Honestly, you saved my life back there, and I can't thank you enough umph-

Rhodey put his hand on Toni's lips, his grip firm but gentle, as he clamped them shut. "Now you listen to me. None of this is your mess, and I'm not leaving you alone to die a martyr. I'm not leaving you here to fight this thing alone, while I run off to save my own ass. We're going to kill the shit of out this thing, and then we're going to go get some ice and some Tylenol for you."

Toni glared as Rhodey's hand still holding her mouth. "mmmph mmmpfh-"

Rhodey's eyes softened; the glare in her eyes couldn't hide the look of relief reflecting back at him, and the slight shaking of Toni's body relaxed as his promise to stay sunk in. "Come on, genius. Let's figure this thing out. We can't die tonight, you still need to show me how you built that proton pack."

Rhodey removed his hand, playfully wiping it on his sleeve before holding it out to Toni. "We're doing this together, no matter what. Okay?"

Toni hesitated, staring at the outstretched hand before hesitantly placing her hand in his. "Okay. Together then."

Rhodey squeezed her hand gently. "So what's the plan?"

Toni stared at their intertwined hands in awe, before blinking and looking back up. "Well, some things worked in our favour tonight. We can probably get some holy water back at the shrine in the garden, and I think I saw a katana hanging above the fireplace back in the living room. But, unless you have a Shinto priest on speed dial, I don't know what we're going to do…"

Rhodey's eyes glinted as he let out an unbelieving laugh. "You know what? Maybe we were destined to meet tonight. I might be able to help us on that end. Hand me that phone will you…"

* * *

Toni stared in amusement as Rhodey whooped and ran around the room. He thrust and stabbed at the air without abandon, the newly blessed katana glinting in the air. Honestly, if felt a bit like the end of a bad horror movie; who would've known that Rhodey's friend of a friend, Rumiko, had a brother who was becoming a Shinto priest? Better yet, one who agreed to do a blessing over the phone while Toni poured the holy water with no questions asked.

"You have no idea how many weird requests I've gotten, this doesn't even break my top ten. You've got the water ready?"

The blessing itself lasted only a minute, with Toni flicking water onto the sword as the priest's voice crackled over the phone. Toni jumped to her feet.

"Alright Tom Cruise, let's get this over with. We don't have much time to waste before she shows up again."

Toni strapped on the buckles of her pack and flipped a switch. The pack beeped as the indicator flashed as the proton pack powered on. "So if possible, we'll see if there's any booze left for you so you can at least _see_ what you're fighting. Then, you'll distract it with the salt, and I'll move in with the sword. Hopefully, we'll get her before she disembowels one of us."

Toni paused. "Or kill us I guess. Disembowelment seems to be a favourite of theirs, so she'll probably do that first."

Rhodey snorted. "Great, just what I needed, a disembowelment. You need to work on your motivational speeches, that one sucked."

Toni rolled her eyes as she checked the hallway _. Clear._ "Next time I'll give the whole graduation speech."

Toni and Rhodey cautiously approached the living room. Hugging the wall, Toni peeked from behind the corner into the trashed living room.

Toni carefully stepped over the red plastic cups as she pushed aside the fallen streamers. The keg was tipped over and Toni sighed as she kicked it. _Empty_. A cold chill filled the air as Toni shivered. "Do you feel that?"

Rhodey nodded. "You mean like how it suddenly feels like it's winter instead of the middle of the summer all of a sudden? Yeah."

Toni's eyes darted frantically around the room. "That's what I was afraid of. It's here."

A shadow darted past as Toni whirled around aiming her proton pack. The blur punched her in the gut as Toni flew straight into the windows. Glass shattered as Toni slid down the curtains. A giant black blur darted and shrieked as it flew straight towards Toni.

"TONI!"

Toni screamed claws swiped at her face and arms. Quickly throwing up her arms, the salt exploded into the air as a shrill cry filled the air. Rhodey rushed forward but Toni stopped him.

"SWING BEHIND YOU!"

Rhodey stopped mid-run as he twirled behind him, sticking out the sword. The flickering girl screamed as the sword pierced her side. Rhodey swung the sword wildly as his eyes darted at the air in front of him.

Toni shook her head, trying to ignore the spinning room as she tried to focus on the spirit in front of her. Rhodey's eyes darted around as he swung the sword around him, flailing.

"A little help here!"

"To your left! No sorry, my left! Seven o'clock! RIGHT THERE!"

All of a sudden, a huge gust of wind filled the room and Toni swatted at the curtains in front of her. Rhodey grunted as he flew into the table. Rhodey scrambled to get up, but Toni could tell that he was struggling. Another gust of wind, and Rhodey was covering his face as Toni saw the little girl snarl and scream as she attacked.

Toni reached back for her proton pack and fired. Toni winced as the spirit whirled, hair flying. The spirit looked down at the sword poking out of her chest as she flashed, crumbling into dust before disappearing out the window. Toni slumped back against the window with a laugh as the sword collapsed to the ground.

Rhodey's eyes darted from the sword to Toni's look of relief.

"Please tell me that thing is dead. That thing is dead right?"

"As dead as a doornail." Toni chuckled before wincing, the throbbing at the back of her head becoming more apparent as the adrenaline started to wear off. Glass shards slipped out as Toni carded her fingers through her hair, red staining her fingers as she gingerly touched the back of her head.

"Ow."

"Ow is right. It looks like a shallow cut, so you probably won't need stitches, but we'll probably want to get that checked out sooner or later."

Rhodey gently lifted her head, picking out the larger pieces of glass. He stood up slowly, helping Toni to her feet. "Come on. Let's get you cleaned up and outta here before the cops show up and we have no explanations."

After re-adjusting the pack on her back, she slid her arms around Rhodey as they limped out the front door. They silently made their way down the hill, back towards the university. Rhodey shifted his weight before clearing his throat.

"So, that definitely tops my list of weirdest Halloweens."

"I'd hope so. If anything topped that, I'd be concerned but also very intrigued."

"Let's just say that I've been to some list topping circus parties that even you would call weird."

The entrance to the dorms came into view as Toni slowed down, fidgeting. "So…thanks. For everything tonight."

Toni stared down at her feet, bracing herself for the inevitable goodbye. Hopefully Rhodey would at least wave to her in the hallways, and not pretend not to know her like others before. While she would never admit it to anyone else, it was…nice having someone with her who didn't roll their eyes at the girl who cried ghost.

That didn't stop the tightness in her chest. She really liked Rhodey, and she hated that he was going to leave.

Rhodey stared at her for a while, and Toni started to back away. "Just…forget about everything you saw tonight. If you try to explain it to anyone, they'll just think you're crazy anyways, so forget about it."

Rhodey reached out, gently blocking Toni's path. "Is that what happens with most people? They shake it off and call you crazy?"

Toni blinked up at him, but Rhodey was patient and waiting. "Well, usually people pretend not to notice or know me afterwards. They shake it off as a weird drunk dream since they're usually plastered beforehand anyways."

Rhodey shook his head. "Well, unfortunately for you, you're stuck with me. There's no way I'm letting you get back out there on your own. Besides, you're so tiny that wind almost knocked you over earlier. You're going to need to eat more and some extra muscle as backup."

"I am not tiny! I'm compact!"

Rhodey ruffled her hair gently. "Well, compact, tiny, same thing. Come on shortstack, let's go get those cuts cleaned up, and get some pancakes. Ghostbusters eat pancakes right?"

The tightness in her chest disappeared as Rhodey wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they walked inside together.

* * *

 _Men of Letters_  
 _London, England_

November 1, 1994

To: [REDACTED]  
Mission Report

The potential recruit dispatched a level two Shōjō with minimal casualties. Stark cleared the house of most civilians and the Shōjō with the help of another civilian, name currently unknown. Before the house was cleared, there were two witnesses that left the house.

Both witnesses were intercepted before they could call the police, and were taken care of.

After Stark and the civilian had left, the Shōjō's victims were removed from the scene and the house was swept clean.

Both Stark and this civilian seem to be promising, and with further training may be useful to the organization. Further surveillance is recommended.

I await further instructions.

A.K.

* * *

 _A/N: Wow, it's been a while, sorry that this part took so long! I got distracted with writing my Winteriron springfling gift that quickly spiraled out of control to 23k. If you like Firefly, explosions and Winteriron, check it out! It's called Boil and Burn (Through the Skies). Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you think!_


	7. Woman of Letters (Chapter 6)

**Chapter 6 - Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die  
**

 **Toni Stark: Woman of Letters**

* * *

To Toni's utter surprise, life at MIT became eerily normal.

Every morning she would drag herself out of bed, blearily throw on the cleanest sweater she had before hauling her bricks of books to class. To her delight, Rhodey was in three of her classes, and started saving her a seat beside him at each lecture. Sometimes, Rhodey would even push an oversized coffee under her nose to wake her up.

All in all, it was...nice.

For the first time in her life, Toni finally felt like she'd understood what it meant to have a friend.

After the night at the Halloween party, for some reason, Rhodey had decided that he and Toni were going to be friends. Toni had to hide her surprise when Rhodey sat down beside her in class the next day, complaining about the upcoming class assignment they had to do.

"...I mean, he's already assigned that huge lab only a week before, and he knows that everyone starts last minute. I'm telling you, that man assigned that to us on purpose to make us sweat. Hey, are you listening? You alright?"

Toni shook her head as she stared at Rhodey wide eyed. "..yeah. Are you sure you're sitting in the right spot?"

Rhodey frowned as he looked at the empty spot. "Oh sorry, was there someone else sitting here?"

Toni fidgeted as she shook her head. "No! I mean no, there's no one sitting there. I'm just-"

Toni slumped as she mumbled the rest of her sentence. Rhodey had to lean in to hear, "- no one usually wants to sit with me."

Rhodey frowned narrowing his eyes before blinking slowly. Toni swallowed as she turned back to her notebook. It didn't need to be said out loud; everyone tried to avoid the young genius as much as possible. No one was interested in hanging out with the fifteen year old kid.

"Well that's too bad for them," Rhodey declared, setting his backpack down on the ground beside him. "And great for me, since I'm claiming the seat next to you for the rest of the class, so you better save me a seat every time you get here first."

For the rest of the class, Toni had a wide smile stretched across her face.

* * *

"Hey Stark! Over here!"

Toni flinched as she heard her name being called across the hallway. She gripped her hand tightly across her shoulder strap, steeling herself before she turned around.

The red-headed girl in the cheerleader costume from Halloween waved at her as she jogged over. She looked much different now, sporting a Star Wars t-shirt and jeans. Huffing a little as she stopped in front of Toni.

"I just wanted to say, thank you. For, well-" The girl glanced up and down the hallways to make sure no one was listening before whispering. "you know"

Toni relaxed a fraction, re-adjusting her bag. "I'm glad you're alright." Toni frowned as she looked behind the girl. "And what about-"

"Willow's fine as well." The redhead chirped as she re-adjusted the glasses on her face. "I'm Charlie by the way, and you're Toni right?"

Toni blinked, nodding slowly. "How did you know?"

"Oh, I ran into your other friend, Rhodes I think his name was?" Charlie supplied, "I looked up your schedule and it said you had class here in a few-"

Toni stared, eyes narrowing at the implication. "...so you hacked it? It isn't public information."

Charlie smiled awkwardly before laughing. "Oh shit, I knew you were smart, but i didn't realize how smart! I'm a computer science major and I know a lot about getting into encrypted places, so I thought it was faster to find you this way. Okay...now I understand how creepy that sounds. I'm sorry for being creepy. Willow tells me I have to work on that, I promise I wasn't trying to hurt you or anything. Ohgod now you're gonna think I'm a stalker because that's what a stalker would say-"

Toni held up a hand as she bit back a laugh. "I get it Charlie, breathe."

Charlie took a large breath than covered her mouth with her hands. "Okay shutting up now."

Toni grinned. "It's fine. I'm glad both of you are alright."

Toni glanced again down the hallway. Classes were starting soon and she could see that more people were starting to rush to get to their classes on time. She pulled Charlie a little closer. "What did you want to ask?"

Charlie got the message and lowered her voice. "To thank you mostly. And to let you know that we didn't tell anyone what we saw. Because we figured it was smarter not to go around telling everyone about it right?"

Toni let out a sigh of relief. Toni couldn't stop looking over her shoulder for an entire week, just waiting for the cops to burst into her dorm room. "Right. People are probably safer not knowing."

Charlie nodded. "Cool, cool. Also, I know your friend Rhodes said you don't want money or a reward or anything, but I owe you one. So if you ever need a way to get some information that might be hard to get, say on the internet somewhere, let me know. I'm your girl."

Toni smiled. "Thanks Charlie, I might take you up on that sometime."

"Sweet!" answered Charlie brightly, She looked over Toni's shoulder in alarm. "Um- you might want to get to your class soon. I think it started five minutes ago."

* * *

"Wait, so werewolves and skinwalkers are different?"

Toni lifted her chin from her arms, eyes blinking away the chemistry formulas staring back at her from the textbook in front of her. Sitting up from her sprawl on the floor, Toni lifted her arms above her head as she stretched. "They're similar, but skinwalkers can change into their animal form anytime they want, not just during the full moon like werewolves. They typically also shift into canines instead of wolf-human hybrids that werewolves tend to."

Rhodey frowned at the thick tome, flipping through the thick pages. The leather bound journal had been "Huh. While I'm impressed that you've somehow managed to memorize so much of this word by word, I'm more amazed that you can remember that but not when our next chemistry midterm is."

Toni scowled, chucking an empty energy drink can at his head. 'Hey, it's not my fault that our TA talks like he's narrating a nature documentary. I mean, it's nice that his voice is so calm and soothing. The better question is, how do you not fall asleep while he lectures?"

Rhodey snorted, flipping rapidly again through the pages. "Maybe there's something in here that can explain how to bore people to sleep- hey!"

Rhodey ducked as a pillow sailed across the room. Toni laughed as Rhodey flailed and punched the pillow out of the way. "He's not that boring, the labs he preps are actually pretty interesting. It's not his fault that he has that slowww deeeep voooiceee."

"Never do that again," Rhodey deadpanned, "That was awful."

Rhodey stood up, grabbing his open chemistry textbook on the desk and shoving it into his backpack. He handed Maria's leatherbound journal back to Toni. 'Come on, let's go grab some dinner before my brain explodes. We can quiz each other more when we get back."

Toni snorted, packing the journal alongside her textbook, notebooks and pens into her bag."Fine, but if we're going to actually be productive, we're grabbing coffee on the way back."

A tall figure watched as both Toni and Rhodey bickered their way towards the dining hall. Waiting until they turned the corner, the figure slipped into the dorms. Casually strolling down the empty hallway.

After checking that no one was looking, the figure pulled a duplicate key out of their pocket as they unlocked the dorm. Stepping over the empty cans of Redbull and over the pillows strewn onto the floor, the man quickly scanned the room.

After searching through a few drawers, the man carefully shut them again. Nodding to himself, he pulled a small slip of paper from his pocket. The black ink shimmered in the light as he kneeled to peel back the welcome mat.

He paused, eyes narrowing at the barely visible protection sigils drawn into the ground.

Carefully sliding the paper in his hand, the black ink shimmered a bright gold as it disappeared, the paper now completely blank. Grabbing the paper, the man carefully re-adjusted the welcome mat before leaving the room and turning the light off behind him.

* * *

 _A/N: Oops, I honestly didn't realize it's been this long since I last updated, I'm sorry it's been so long! Other stories and ideas got in the way, and after tossing out three drafts of this chapter, I thought it was best to take a break. With more of the outline in better working form, I don't anticipate the next chapter taking as long. Hopefully this one isn't too rusty - let me know what you think!_

 _ **Also, as a general notice - I won't be uploading any new stories to this account moving forward. I will definitely still continue to update all the stories I've already started over here (including this one) until they are finished, but I won't be uploading brand new stories**. __Feedback on here in general has dwindled to almost non-existent, so I've been migrating over to ao3 under the same username, so check me out over there for a bunch of new content and collaborations!_

 _Thank you for reading, and thanks to everyone who sent me lovely reviews and comments on past chapters, your comments and reviews always make my day better!_


	8. Woman of Letters (Chapter 7)

**Chapter 7**

 **Toni Stark: Woman of Letters**

* * *

Nick Fury sighed. He watched through the monitor as the third operative screamed, fumbling as they readied their gun. The agent-in-training took aim and emptied their remaining clip of blanks into the darkness.

The shadow figure that the agent aimed at fizzled into the darkness. While the agent focused intently on the shadows dancing in front of them, they failed to notice its twin flashing behind them.

A cough beside him drew Fury's attention.

"So that's a no for fieldwork then," Coulson remarked, "Their research and arcane knowledge scores indicate that they'll still be very useful on the research team."

Fury leaned over to read the file Coulson was meticulously scribbling in over his shoulder. Six months of training, and this baby agent still panicked in the simulation room. Fury and Coulson watched as the flicker of darkness appeared behind him. Fury closed his eyes.

More screams filled the air as the shadows converged.

"Research it is."

Fury leaned forward, pressing the red button on the console. Everything in the simulation room paused as the dim emergency lights flickered on. The agent, arms flung up to protect their face, peeled their eyes open. Fury tapped the intercom. "If you didn't unleash your entire clip of salt bullets into the air screaming like a banshee, you might've had a chance to notice the blind spot over in the corner by the window."

The agent walked over to the shaded window, flinging back the curtain. Fury watched as the agent broke off one of the boards sealing the window, letting a bright beam of moonlight into the room, illuminating the makeshift altar against the opposite wall.

The agent groaned, pulling out a small flask and pouring it over the altar before tossing a lit match on top. The flames flicked through the room as the shadow figure snarled before disappearing entirely.

Fury continued on. "There was also a flare gun attached to the other wall if you had didn't panic and stopped to think. That's the end of this test. You're free to go."

Coulson pulled a lever on the console and everything in the simulation room disappeared in a flash. Both men watched as the agent slumped before exiting the room. Fury grabbed another file off the large stack, flipping through it as Coulson reset the room. "How many left?"

"Five sir," replied Coulson, "You failed the last three."

Fury grumbled under his breath, rubbing his forehead. Even after months of extensive lessons, it still seemed like barely any progress at all. "Send the next one in. Hopefully one of these brats actually remembers their training."

The simulation darkened, and the next recruit entered on the other side.

Fury pressed a button on the intercom, the speakers crackling as his voice boomed over the speakers. "Pay attention! Your next test starts now…"

* * *

"...I still can't believe you managed to swindle two extra desserts."

Toni smirked. "First of all I didn't swindle her, she offered-"

Rhodey threw his arm around Toni with a sigh. "After you almost burst into tears. She panicked and gave you two so you would stop staring at her with those big brown eyes."

Toni patted her bag with a satisfied grin. "You're just jealous she wouldn't give you an extra scoop of those potatoes-"

"Those roasted potatoes are the best! I don't understand why she can't scoop a little extra for a poor, hungry college student…"

A sudden chill came over Toni as she felt the hairs on the back of her neck tingle. She glanced behind her, scanning the crowd of people wandering around. A dark haired man turned his head away at her glance. He wore a dark grey of a janitor's uniform that wouldn't normally set off any alarms, but she felt her stomach drop and twist into knots.

Something wasn't right.

"Toni, are you even listening?" Rhodey waved a hand in front of her face, "Earth to Toni? Toni? What's wrong?"

"Don't look behind you, and keep walking," Toni whispered. Rhodey blinked before he straightened, shoulders tense as he silently waited for her to continue. "Did you notice that man behind us? In the janitor's outfit? I think I remember seeing him when we walked past the science building andthe engineering block."

Rhodey casually stretched, glancing behind him as he adjusted his backpack. "Shit. I think I remember him, he's definitely following us. Okay, what should we do? Head to security?"

Toni shook her head. "At this point, I'm not sure if they're going to be able to help us at all."

Rhodey cursed. "Right. All that ghostbuster business. What should we do?"

They continued to wander around campus, tensing as the man slowly walked a bit closer. Toni ran her fingers through her hair. "Don't tip him off. Let's try and lose him while we head to campus security."

Toni's heart pounded in her chest as they slowly increased their walking speed. Every time they turned a corner, sure enough a few moments later, the man followed behind them. Toni's eyes scanned the crowd in front of her, for someone- there.

"Hey Charlie!" yelled Toni, cheerfully waving across to the red-headed girl. Rhodey nodded a Toni as he also greeted Charlie loudly. Charlie looked up from her textbook in surprise before she waved back."Hey you two! Come join me over here!"

Toni and Rhodey slipped off their backpacks and slid to the grassy lawn. Toni leaned in and whispered. "Could you talk really loudly? Don't look now, but there's a man dressed in a janitor's uniform that's been following us for a while."

Charlie's face darkened before she nodded, clearing her throat. She turned to Rhodey with a overly large grin on her face. "So, did you get a chance to decide on what option you're gonna take next semester? I was thinking of taking astrophysics as my elective, but I heard that Dr. Selvig might not be teaching-"

Toni clenched her fist around the strap of her backpack, readying herself to throw it if necessary. Tilting her head, she watched as the man slowly leaned across the far building to wait.

Minutes passed, then half an hour passed.

Throughout it all, Charlie managed to chatter on, keeping up the conversation while Toni and Rhodey tried to force themselves to relax. Toni forced herself not to turn around and confront the eyes at the back of her head, staring at her, watching her. Charlie even pulled out her polaroid camera out of her bag.

With a meaningful look, Charlie waved her camera. "Since it's such a nice day out, why don't we take some pictures? Here, you and Rhodey pose this way! Those trees are a great backdrop!"

Leaning in with a smile, Toni and Rhodey posed as Charlie took the picture with a flash. Toni watched out of the corner of her eye as the man scowled, pushed off against the side of the building and left the clearing.

Charlie waved the polaroid with a grin. "I should've done that half-an-hour ago! I didn't think he'd wait that long though, sorry! Here, while this develops, hold still!"

Charlie snapped another picture. "One with the creepy stalker, and one for fun!"

Toni smiled. "Thanks Charlie. But where's our picture with you?"

Charlie startled, cheerily loading her camera for another shot "Really? Okay! Get in here Rhodey!"

Rhodey threw his arms around them both with a grin and Toni smiled for the camera. He picked up the first photo. "Okay. Let's look and see if we can recognize this bastard."

Toni, Charlie and Rhodey huddled together, watching as the picture came into focus. To everyone's disappointment, the figure in the background was a dark blur. It looked like he quickly realized he would be in the background of the shot.

"Sorry guys," fretted Charlie, "I hoped that you'd be able to see him. Maybe report him to the police."

"It's okay Charlie, you helped us out a lot" replied Toni, squeezing the girl's shoulder. Toni let out a long sigh. "I still don't know at this point if taking it to the police would really help anything, if you know what I mean."

Charlie's eyes widened and nodded. "Oh, oh! I see. Well, let me know right away if you need help. Anytime."

Toni tugged the girl into a hug, tension releasing as Charlie patted her back. "Thank you."

Charlie squeezed Toni's shoulder reassuringly. "Are you sure you both don't want to stay with me tonight? Just in case?"

Toni and Rhodey glanced at each other briefly before Toni shook her head. "No I think we should be alright. Thanks though."

Toni slung her bag over her shoulder picking herself off the ground. Her legs tingled and she grimaced as she bounced, trying to wake her legs up as Rhodey stood up beside her. Both of them brushed off the stray grass sticking to their pants. "See you later Charlie, thanks again."

Charlie waved, and started packing her stuff into her backpack. "No problem. Let me know if you need help finding more info on that creeper."

Rhodey and Toni turned the corner and relaxed as there was no janitor in sight. Half walking, half jogging, they quickly made their way towards their skidded to a stop in front of their door. The door was cracked open an inch and the lights off.

Toni walked backwards. "Nope. Nope, nope."

Rhodey frowned as he squinted at the door. "Aw man. It looks like someone jimmied the lock."

Toni pulled on Rhodey's arm, hissing into his ear. "We better leave in case whoever broke in is still here."

"Too late for that."

Before Toni could turn around, she felt a strong arm grip her from behind. Toni flailed and kicked as best she could but the arms that gripped arm smothered her nose and mouth with a strong smelling rag. The room started to spin and her vision started to blur as she felt Rhodey struggling beside her.

A few seconds later, both teenagers slumped over as darkness overtook them.

* * *

A sharp knocking on his office door had Fury scowling. He glanced down at his large stack of files and closed them with a sigh. Before he could even give a reply, Coulson burst through the doors. Fury frowned. Nothing rattled Coulson, ever . Seeing Coulson that disheveled and barging into his office without a response first could only mean...

"What's wrong?"

"Toni Stark" replied Coulson, "was kidnapped a few hours ago along with her friend James Rhodes in front of their dorm room at MIT."

Fury blinked for a moment before he shot straight up in his chair.. "What? I thought we had two agents tailing her! What happened to them?"

"Both were knocked out. By the time they were conscious again, both Stark and Rhodes were missing and their room ransacked."

Fury pinched his forehead. He could feel a large headache coming already. "Tell me you have someone looking into it."

Coulson placed the open case file on the desk. "I've sent the team out to investigate, discreetly. I was about to inform Director Carter and Howard Stark but-"

Fury coughed. "Inform Director Carter for now. Let her decide whether or not to tell Howard right away, or if she wants to wait for more information first. After you inform Director Carter, I want you to take the lead in this investigation. Level 5 security protocols."

"I'll check things out myself," replied Coulson, pausing as he stared at Fury's tense face. "Level 5?"

Fury closed his eyes at the unasked question.

You suspect a mole?

"You said it yourself," replied Fury. "Both our agents were incapacitated. From the timeline here," Fury tapped the case file, "this was a professional job, and for not just one but both of our agents were taken out that fast without anyone else noticing... someone is helping them. Find out who, and bring Stark and Rhodes home."

Coulson nodded. "Right away sir. I'll do my best."


End file.
